The former Barcelona coach was thrilled with the reaction of his side in the quarter-final second leg – but warned fans not to expect such victories every week
Pep Guardiola thanked his Bayern Munich players after they bounced back from their surprise first-leg defeat to crush Porto and secure a place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Bayern were widely criticized for the manner of their 3-1 defeat at the Estadio do Dragao last Wednesday but produced the perfect response to win the return 6-1 at the Allianz Arena and coast through 7-4 on aggregate.
The tie was effectively over by half-time after goals from Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and a double from Robert Lewandowski put the hosts in complete control.
Jackson Martinez pulled one back for Porto but Xabi Alonso had the final say with a late free kick.
“That was very good,” Guardiola told Sky. “We played very well in the first half, not so good in the second. I can only thank the players, the first 45 minutes was the reaction after the match in Porto.
“I am lucky to coach these great players but if people think we can win every match [like that] then they have to look for a new coach.”
The win maintained Guardiola’s record of having qualified for the semi-finals of Europe’s elite club competition in each of his six years in management.
He achieved it four times with Barcelona and now twice at Bayern.