He didn’t want to talk much about his feelings. As a matter of fact, he didn’t want to talk about his feelings at all. Pep Guardiola's return to the Camp Nou was the main story before the game, after 90 minutes, it wasn't as much anymore – because Lionel Messi happened. Guardiola’s Bayern lost 0-3 thanks to Messi’s performance “from another galaxy,” as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung put it, and since Guardiola, as usual, didn’t want to tell the reporters how it was for him to come back as an opposition coach, his gameplan became the main topic of discussion.

“Bayern’s tactics had one single mistake: they only worked 77 Minutes,” said Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, pointing out that “Guardiola’s concept had rhyme and reason, but in the end, his players lost their heads.” Even the Catalan admitted, “We lost control with the first goal.” Not just over the game, but over themselves and their approach. For 77 minutes, their approach was okay, even if Guardiola had to make early changes in his tactics. He started with a 3-5-2 to have more domination in midfield, which didn’t work out; Barça looked sharp and almost overran the backline, so Guardiola corrected his mistake quickly after about 20 minutes.

Guardiola later revealed his game plan: “You can only stop Barça with possession.” His team earned 53 percent of possession but looked like they were rather aiming for a goalless draw, since they didn’t create danger or even a single shot on goal. And so, two genius moments of Messi changed the game, with a last-minute goal from Neymar perhaps killing the tie. “There is no system that can stop Leo Messi,” a subdued Guardiola admitted.

Not in the whole game obviously, but Guardiola's system stopped Messi at least for 77 Minutes. But then “mental weaknesses” happened, which is “not typical for Bayern,” Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted. Süddeutsche Zeitung title read: “Diagnoses: Haggard,” pointing out that “in its actual state of health, Bayern’s squad is not able to withstand a game against a team like Barcelona.” Without Messi, maybe Bayern would have kept the game at 0:0, who knows? But since Messi played, and boy, did he play, there was a “shock at the end,” as Kicker sports magazine wrote, “his brace roused Bayern from (premature) dreams of the final.” And so it was “more than a defeat,” especially for Guardiola. The sports journal noticed: “His record in Munich after three semifinal losses in the Champions League is 0-8.”

Tabloid BILD even asked in its usual rushing way: “After the elimination in the cup and the hammering against Barça: Has Guardiola failed?” Sixty percent of voters said “yes,” by the way. Guardiola underlined that he is “a fighter,” though admitting that the 0-3 is very tough to turn around. “I'm realistic, it’s not easy. We have 90 minutes.”

Ninety minutes later, a turnaround seemed even more unlikely, and the critics in Bavaria would surely continue: Bayern lost in the Bundesliga 0-1 to FC Augsburg, being a man down for nearly 75 Minutes after ‘keeper Pepe Reina got sent off. “It’s not easy to play with one man less for 80 minutes after the game in Barcelona,” noted Guardiola. Captain Philipp Lahm admitted, “Nothing is at stake since two games ago in the Bundesliga. Nobody wants to hear that, but it’s not that easy being at 100 percent on the field.”

And so, Bayern’s poor form continues. Guardiola has lost three consecutive matches for the first time in his career as a coach – and Bayern didn’t even manage to score a single goal in those last matches (0-2 in Leverkusen, 0-3 in Barcelona, 0-1 to Augsburg). But of course, against Augsburg, the German champions just thought about the game on Tuesday. “If we focus just on scoring goals, we are going to lose just like last year against Madrid,” Guardiola warned, adding: “We have to be calm, control our game and just see what happens.” For six hours (!) Bayern didn't score a goal in a game. But they still believe in themselves, albeit slightly, because in sports, you never know what happens. “In football, sometimes incredible things happen. We hope that we catch one of those days,” said Bastian Schweinsteiger.