Messi and Suarez both threaten to wriggle their way through the Bayern defence, before Bayern counter with Lewandowski, but the Polish international misplaces the final pass.
Shortly thereafter, Suarez is played through on goal, but Neuer makes a superb one-on-one save.
What a performance from Barca, but it was ultimately all about Lionel Messi.
He grabbed hold of the game, when it was balanced on a knife edge, producing two goals and one assist to put Barca on the brink of the Champions League final.
It was ultimately a well-deserved victory for the Catalan side, who had too much class for their German opponents.
Pep Guardiola’s men were lucky to go in 0-0 at half-time after Neuer made some fantastic saves, before Messi took over and inspired Barca to victory, becoming the Champions League’s all-time record goalscorer in the process.
As it happened: Barcelona v Bayern Munich, Champions League semi-final
As always, we’d love to hear your thoughts on the game. E-mail paul@the42.ie, tweet @the42_ie, post a message to our Facebook wall, or leave a comment below.
You may need to refresh the page for YouTube videos and other elements to display correctly.
Hello and welcome to tonight’s liveblog.
Here are the teams…
We’re underway…
Bayern have looked composed so far.
As I type though, Suarez runs through on goal but Neuer gets to the ball ahead of him.
At least one Barca fan is confident.
Suarez makes space and gets a shot in, which Neuer saves comfortably.
So far so good from a Bayern perspective.
Messi and Suarez both threaten to wriggle their way through the Bayern defence, before Bayern counter with Lewandowski, but the Polish international misplaces the final pass.
Shortly thereafter, Suarez is played through on goal, but Neuer makes a superb one-on-one save.
What an exciting start it’s been!
Joachim Loew is in attendance.
So close! Suarez gets to a cross but his effort is deflected wide via Rafinha’s knee.
Bayern are looking very vulnerable right now, which is not surprising, given their relatively adventurous approach so far.
Lewandowksi has missed a glorious chance!
Muller crosses and the striker can only partially connect with the ball, which goes harmlessly wide as a result.
The way this game is going right now, it could end 5-5.
Wonderful footwork from Messi, who beats two defenders effortlessly before curling a shot just wide.
This has been highly entertaining — a game that’s lived up to its lofty expectations so far.
Xabi Alonso’s free kick in a dangerous area drifts harmlessly out of play.
Set pieces could be one area of joy for Bayern, but they won’t be on that evidence.
Alba charges forward, but Boateng blasts his cross clear for a corner.
Barca continue to look very dangerous when they get forward.
There’s very little width in the game at the moment.
At times, it looks as if Barca are trying to thread the ball through the eye of a needle.
(Bayern’s head coach Pep Guardiola, left, and Barcelona’s head coach Luis Enrique hug each other before the start of the game)
The game has slowed down a bit of late following a frantic opening.
Bayern will be happy to get to half-time at 0-0, as Barca have already wasted some excellent chances.
Messi curls a free kick straight into Neuer’s arms.
The Argentine superstar has shown flashes of genius without fully catching fire just yet.
In recent minutes, Bayern have reverted to a less ambitious formation and are emulating Barca man-for-man.
The visitors have looked a little more comfortable as a result.
A beautiful lofted through ball by Iniesta finds Alves, but his finish forces another excellent save from Neuer.
The German international is showing why he’s considered the best goalkeeper in the world this evening.
Alves has just nutmegged Thiago as Barca continue to press for a goal.
Surely Bayern can’t keep up this level of defensive concentration for 90 minutes.
(Bayern’s Rafinha makes a bicycle kick beside Barcelona’s Neymar)
HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 0-0 BAYERN MUNICH
The second half is underway…
Nervous moment for Barca straight away, as Alves drags back Lewandowski just outside the box.
He was running away from goal so the ref rightly just books him.
Lahm goes down under the challenge of Mascherano just outside the box but the ref waves play on.
Bayern have looked much more comfortable since half-time.
Bayern have a clever strategy to counteract Messi — they’re not allowing him onto his stronger left side.
That said, as I type, the Argentine superstar gets a powerful shot away that Neuer does well to hold onto.
Neymar almost finds a way through on goal, but again, he is crowded out by a sea of Bayern defenders.
They may have enjoyed some luck along the way, but the Germans are still faring much better than the majority of sides who come to the Nou Camp.
Risky but brilliant again from Neuer.
Messi plays Neymar through but he mis-controls the ball slightly and the keeper is out quickly to intercept.
Pique has just been booked for chopping down Lewandowski.
A sign of Barca’s growing frustration perhaps?
Neymar has now been booked for a foul on Muller.
It hasn’t been the Brazilian’s best night by any means.
Suarez swings in a cross but no one can get on the end of it.
It’s been a frustrating evening for Barca’s attackers.
Regardless of how impressive Bayern’s second-half performance has been, they have yet to create a real clear-cut chance in this game.
Sooner or later, they’ll surely be presented with one.
BARCELONA 1-0 BAYERN MUNICH (MESSI 76)
Alves steals possession off Bayern in a dangerous area, before playing it to Messi.
The attacker produces an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net to give Barca the advantage. Cometh the hour, cometh the main man!
Just before that Neymar went down in the area amid claims for a penalty.
BARCELONA 2-0 BAYERN MUNICH (MESSI 79)
Rakitic plays it to Messi, who beats Boateng, before dinking the ball over Neuer to make it 2-0.
The Argentine international is now the top scorer in Champions League history, and that’s game and possibly tie over.
Suarez is played through by Neymar, but he blasts the ball well over.
The Uruguayan has not been at his best tonight.
Here are those two Messi goals…
Bartra replaces Mascherano as Barca make a straight swap.
About five minutes remain.
There will be four minutes of time added on.
Bayern could do with a goal right about now.
Whoops!
We couldn't find this Tweet
BARCELONA 3-0 BAYERN MUNICH (NEYMAR 90)
Barca counter and Messi plays through Neymar, who slots the ball coolly home.
Surely that’s tie over now.
FULL-TIME: BARCELONA 3-0 BAYERN MUNICH
What a performance from Barca, but it was ultimately all about Lionel Messi.
He grabbed hold of the game, when it was balanced on a knife edge, producing two goals and one assist to put Barca on the brink of the Champions League final.
It was ultimately a well-deserved victory for the Catalan side, who had too much class for their German opponents.
Pep Guardiola’s men were lucky to go in 0-0 at half-time after Neuer made some fantastic saves, before Messi took over and inspired Barca to victory, becoming the Champions League’s all-time record goalscorer in the process.
Right, that’s all from me for now.
Thanks for reading and commenting, we’ll have more reaction to follow.
Ian Harte and his sweet left peg won’t be back in the Premier League with Bournemouth>
Do you agree with our best combined Barca-Bayern XI?>
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Liveblog Minute-by-Minute Neymar Pep Guardiola Barcelona Bayern Munich