Mourinho anticipates tough battle against Bayern Munich

MADRID: Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho predicted bitter rivals Barcelona would reach the Champions League final but was not sure whether his side would be strong enough to beat Bayern Munich and join them.

The Portuguese tactician – winner of the trophy with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010 – was speaking after the nine-time European champions had breezed into the last four after beating plucky Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia 5-2 on the night and 8-2 on aggregate.

Mourinho, whose side lead champions Barcelona by six points in the

Our semi will be a difficult match for both sides, but I am sure Barca will be the other finalist as they have such a good side.

— JOSE MOURINHO

Spanish league, said he fforesaw ffew problems for holders Barcelona in their semi-final against one of his former teams Chelsea in their semifinal.

“Our semi will be a difficult match for both sides, but I am sure Barca will be the other finalist as they have such a good side,” he said.

“Bayern will obviously be a strong rival, they are a very powerful club both on and off the pitch with great fans and it’s a semi-final we all want to play, I think Europe ingeneral will enjoy it,” he added.

His compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo echoed his sentiments about their next opponents, who have been crowned European champions four times.

“Bayern are one of the teams that can win the trophy so they will be a difficult opponent for us,” said Ronaldo, whose double strike against APOEL took his tally for the season to 49 goals.

Real will go into the Bayern clash with a near perfect Champions League record this season, winning nine out of ten games, and Mourinho said that having missed out in previous years his players are determined to land the trophy this time round.

“We will have players back from injury so we are well prepared for a difficult April,” he said.

“These players have failed to get to the final in the past few years so it is normal that they will be extra motivated to get past Bayern.

“We will have a tough first game in their stadium before bringing them to the Bernabeu but let’s see if we can all do enough to get through to that final.”

Meanwhile the former Chelsea boss does not rate his old club’s chances.

The Special One said: “Let me be honest, I don’t think the final will be Real Madrid against Chelsea.

“It can be Bayern, it can be Barcelona, I just don’t think it will be Real Madrid and Chelsea.”