Bayern Munich's victory was about life and death - Guardiola

Bayern Munich's progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League was "about life or death", according to manager Pep Guardiola.

The Germans overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit against Porto, winning 6-1 to advance 7-4 on aggregate.

Guardiola's side scored five goals in a thrilling first half at Allianz Arena.

"I know how very important it was," the 44-year-old ex-Barcelona boss told ZDF Television. "It is about winning just like at Barcelona."

He added: "It's easy to love my players now. I am the coach of extraordinary players. I didn't expect such a first half.

"We can still play better. We lost the ball here and there and we can improve on that. We had a few problems in the second half. They had only a few chances in the second half but you should never relax in the Champions League."

Speaking before the game, Guardiola admitted the expectation at the Bundesliga club was to win the Champions League, and not just settle for domestic league and cup glory.

Striker Robert Lewandowski scored two and Thiago Alcantara, Jerome Boateng, Thomas Muller and Xabi Alonso also netted as Bayern dominated their Portuguese visitors.

Porto barely troubled Bayern in the first half, and Guardiola added: "We played a different game. We knew Porto better after the first game.

"Now we have to fight otherwise we will not achieve what we set out to do."

Credit: BBC Sport