Bayern pair Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman struck in the additional half hour to give Munich victory

For 85 minutes, the awkward prospect of Manuel Pellegrini outrunning Pep Guardiola in the Champions League was amusingly real. For just as long, Guardiola faced the extraordinary possibility of being cast as a Bayern Munich failure.

That is the strange lot for a man who looks set to collect a third straight Bundesliga title but whose appointment three years ago was based on the greater brief of winning the Champions League. Cleaning up domestic business is nice and expected; winning in Europe is all that ever really mattered.

On Wednesday night, that almost came crashing down in a weird and wonderful match between the best of Italy and the best of Germany. Juventus crushed Bayern for more than an hour and led by goals from Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado, giving them a 4-2 aggregate lead. 

Juventus midfielder put the Italians ahead against Bayern Munich as he side-footed the ball home on the edge of the area on five minutes

Pogba keeps his cool to slot the ball home as Bayern Munich strecthes a leg but his attempts to block the shot are too late

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France international Pogba wheels away to celebrate after giving Juventus an important lead with Alvaro Morata running close behind

Pogba is congratulated by his team-mates as they surround the midfielder after taking the lead at the home of the Bundesliga leaders

Juan Cuadrado doubled the advantage for the away side with an assured finish after neat feet to get the better of Mehda Benatia (right)

Cuadrado watches his effort curl past goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and into the corner of the net as Juventus took control with a 2-0 lead

Cuadrado is congratulated by Juventus team-mates Stephan Lichtsteiner (second left), Andrea Barzagli (left) and midfielder Hernanes

Striker Robert Lewandowski climbed high at the back post to score a header for Bayern on 72 minutes and cut Juventus' lead in half

Lewandowski jumps for joy and rallies supporters behind the goal after giving Bayern Munich a lifeline with less than 20 minutes to play

Bayern forward Thomas Muller heads the ball towards goal to score a dramatic late equaliser in the final minute to take the tie to extra-time

Muller is congratulated by Lewandowski and roars in the direction of David Alaba after netting to save Bayern's European campaign

Buffon lies on the ground beaten by Thiago Alcantara's extra-time goal which set Bayern Munich on their way to reaching the next round

Thiago Alcantara looks ecstatic and removed his shirt after firing Bayern Munich ahead in the second half of extra time against Juventus

The Bayern Munich squad pile on goalscorer Alcantara as they held the lead for the first time on Wednesday evening in Germany

Bayern winger Kingsley Coman - on loan from Juventus - bends his boot around the ball to curl it into the net and confirm the win

How undignified it seemed that the man who is coming to Manchester City this summer would exit the Champions League before Pellegrini.

But then came the glorious fightback.

Robert Lewandowski gave Guardiola’s side a lifeline with a 72nd-minute header and Thomas Muller scored in stoppage time, taking the game into extra-time. A pair of crosses and a pair of headed goals; it’s not Guardiola football as we know it, but it did the job.

Just like that, 2-0 down on the night had become 2-2 and that became 4-2 up with excellent extra time goals from Guardiola’s substitutes, Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman, the latter a Juventus player on loan in Germany. Brilliantly dramatic.

And all this in a tie that had already had its share of swings in the first leg. Bayern, remember, had led 2-0 in Turin only to draw 2-2. A pair of away goals ought to have given them the edge in Munich last night, or at least a slight feeling of comfort.

The opposite was true. Whatever was Guardiola’s plan, it went horribly, woefully wrong. They faced a Juventus side determined to swamp the midfield and squeeze the life out of Bayern’s defence, which is precisely what happened.

The opening goal, scored after only six minutes, was a calamity of Bayern mistakes from a pair of players in Manuel Neuer and David Alaba who tend to make so few. Tellingly, they were mistakes made in panic.

Sami Khedira was the creator, in so much that he hit an excellent throughball that ultimately led to the goal. 

But before it reached Pogba, Neuer made the rash decision to sprint from his goal for a ball that Alaba was better placed to deal with. Alaba hesitated as his goalkeeper closed in, allowing Stephan Lichtsteiner the opportunity to beat both men to the punch and square to Pogba. With the goal vacated, the former Manchester United midfielder threaded a shot between two covering defenders and Bayern were behind.