Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano has praised Lionel Messi following the Argentine's double in Wednesday's 3-0 win over Bayern Munich.

Messi scored twice late on to help the Catalan outfit record a comprehensive victory in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at Camp Nou.

Neymar was also on the scoresheet for the home side, who will travel to Germany for the second leg next Tuesday.

"We have Messi so it is an advantage. It was a tight game, but we had the big chances to score and we played the game that we wanted to. We are very happy, but it will be difficult in Germany," Mascherano told ITV Sport.

Barcelona are still on for a treble this season.