Bayern Munich v Inter 2-3
Ruthless Inter punish FCB for missed chances
15.03.2011
Bayern’s Champions League adventure ended cruelly and totally unnecessarily on Tuesday night, as Louis van Gaal’s team utterly dominated holders Inter for an hour, but were left to rue a host of missed chances and watch in dismay as the Italians clinically converted theirs. The tie ended all square at 3-3 on aggregate after the Bundesliga giants won the first leg 1-0 in Milan, but the Serie A side go through to the last eight on the away goals rule.
The 66,000 full house at the Allianz Arena saw a pulsating first period, as Samuel Eto’o opened for the visitors from a suspiciously offside position, but Mario Gomez levelled midway through the half and Thomas Müller put the home team ahead on the half-hour.
Bayern were firmly in the driving seat and had more than enough chances to kill off the visitors, but Wesley Sneijder made it 2-2 just after the hour and the balance of the tie underwent a dramatic shift. It was tense stuff as the minutes ticked down, but a moment’s hesitation in the FCB defence allowed Goran Pandev to net Inter’s crucial third and break Bayern hearts with just two minutes remaining.
The bitterly disappointing result means the men from Munich are left to focus on the bread and butter of the domestic league, and the quest for a place in next season’s Champions League, with the Bavarians next visiting surprise package Freiburg on Saturday.
Louis van Gaal made one change to the team which thrashed hapless Hamburg 6-0 at the weekend, restoring Breno at centre-half alongside Daniel van Buyten and pushing Luiz Gustavo into defensive midfield, where the Brazilian made such an impact against Inter dangerman Sneijder in the first leg. Toni Kroos was the man to miss out as Gustavo lined up alongside Bastian Schweinsteiger in central midfield, with Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben in their usual roles out wide, and Müller in the hole behind Gomez.
Just three minutes after Portuguese referee Pedro Proenca whistled the match underway, there was a shock for the home faithful as Pandev released Eto'o to level the tie on aggregate with a shot through keeper Thomas Kraft’s legs, although replays showed Inter’s Cameroon hitman was clearly in an offside position.
Undeterred by the setback, Bayern went for the early reply and Ribery found Gomez after a decent solo dribble, only for Andrea Ranocchia to block the striker’s shot. The visitors held firm and threatened sporadically on the break, but FCB stuck to the task and were rewarded on 21 minutes in an eerie reprise of their winning goal in Milan, as Inter keeper Julio Cesar flapped at Robben’s 20-yard drive from the right, Gomez artistically flipping the rebound over his own shoulder and into the bottom right corner of the net.
Breno expertly robbed Eto’o in the penalty box and Cesar comfortably held Robben’s drive, before the Bundesliga champions seized the game by the scruff of the net. Gomez accelerated past Lucio only to see his angled drive blocked by Cesar, but the home side took the lead on 31 minutes when Robben cut inside from the left and Thiago Motta inadvertently diverted the ball into the path of Müller, the Germany striker gently lifting the ball over the diving Cesar with the outside of his right boot.
It was all Munich now, and Ribery could have made it three after a slick passing move through the middle, only for Cesar to push the Frenchman’s shot onto the roof of the net. Kraft dived bravely at Dejan Stankovic’ feet as the visitors briefly relieved the pressure, but there were astonishing scenes on 40 minutes when Gomez retrieved Ribery’s superb diagonal ball from the by-line and poked past Cesar. The ball rolled along the goal-line, Ranocchia blasting his desperate attempt to clear against Müller, with the rebound smacking the post and back into play.
There was still time for Robben to fire into the side-netting, Sneijder to curl a free-kick onto the roof of the net, and Ribery to steal the ball off Lucio in the box only to drive wide, before the occasionally inconsistent match official blew for half-time.
After the restart, Bayern picked up where they left off in the first half as Ribery in particular teased and tricked the Inter defence. Schweinsteiger tested Cesar from distance, and the keeper pulled out a superb save to deny a fierce Gomez volley from another precise Ribery cross.
But just as Munich appeared to be cruising, Inter’s quality shone out in an instant of magic and the Italians were level on the night, Sneijder latching onto Eto’o’s 63rd-minute knock-down and crashing a right-foot drive past Kraft from the edge of the box. The goal dramatically altered the balance of play for a spell and FCB were fortunate when Ranocchia missed the target from point-blank range.
Hamit Altintop and Holger Badstuber replaced the injured Robben and Van Buyten for the last 20 minutes, but Inter were the stronger now and Sneijder drove against lively sub Coutinho with the whole goal to aim at. The Italians massed in the Bayern half for the tense closing phase, opening up chances for Van Gaal’s men on the break, but Gomez was robbed in a three-on-two situation, and Pandev delivered the cruel coup de grace with two minutes remaining after Eto’o too easily wove his way across the edge of the box, a devastating blow on an ultimately frustrating evening for FCB.
Live match report for fcbayern.de by Chris Hamley
MATCH STATS
Bayern Munich - Inter Milan 2-3 (H-T: 2-1)
Bayern Munich: Kraft - Lahm, Van Buyten (Badstuber 70), Breno (Kroos 90), Pranjic - Luiz Gustavo, Schweinsteiger - Robben (Altintop 68), Müller, Ribéry - Gomez
Substitutes: Butt, Tymoshchuk, Ottl, Klose
Inter Milan: César - Maicon, Lucio, Ranocchia, Chivu (Nagatomo 87) - Thiago Motta - Cambiasso, Stankovic (Coutinho 51) - Sneijder - Pandev (Kharja 90), Eto'o
Referee: Pedro Proenca (Portugal)
Spectators: 66,000 (capacity)
Goals: 0-1 Eto'o (4), 1-1 Gomez (21), 2-1 Müller (31), 2-2 Sneijder (63), 2-3 Pandev (88)
Yellow Cards: Luiz Gustavo, Breno / Lucio, Pandev, Kharja, Thiago Motta
Credit: FC Bayern Munich (www.fcbayern.t-com.de)
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