Bayern Munich warmed up for their Champions League last 16 clash with Shakhtar Donetsk by hammering eight goals past Hamburg in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The German champions lead the way by eight points from Wolfsburg and their manager was delighted with a return to form as they get set to resume the quest for a second Champions League triumph in three seasons.
It was a dazzling display at the Allianz Arena with Thomas Muller, Mario Gotze and Arjen Robben netting doubles alongside strikes from Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribery.
Having stuttered slightly on their return from the winter break with a 4-1 defeat at Wolfsburg and a 1-1 draw at home against Schalke, Guardiola believes his team are now right back on track.
“We played well and our build-up play was better than it has been recently,” the manager told Bayern’s website. “I’m happy because we’re back in the groove.”
The victory sent out a clear warning signal to Shakhtar ahead of their meeting in the Ukraine on Tuesday.
Bayern are 1.34 to win the first leg clash with the draw 4.72 and Shakhtar 8.21 for an unlikely success given Bayern’s latest display.
Xabi Alonso missed the demolition of Hamburg but Guardiola confirmed he will be fit for the game in the Ukraine as Bayern train their sights on Europe once more.
“We’ll turn our focus to the Champions League now,” Guardiola said.
“Xabi Alonso had a minor problem with a sprain and we didn’t want to take any risks.”
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