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Ozil penalty miss costly as Bayern throttle 10-man Arsenal
By Desmond Kane on 20/02/2014 at 05:39, updated on 20/02/2014 at 08:41
Champions League last 16, first leg, Emirates Stadium - Arsenal 0 Bayern Munich 2 (Kroos 54, Mueller 88)
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Mesut Ozil missed a penalty and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny was sent off before Bayern Munich completed a 2-0 win over 10-man Arsenal in their Champions League last-16 first leg at the Emirates.
Arsenal's night began to do downhill from the seventh minute when Ozil earned a penalty after being felled by Jerome Boateng only to miss the spot-kick as his weak effort down the middle was clawed clear by the right hand of Manuel Neuer.
It went from bad to worse when Szczesny was red carded after he sent Robben crashing to the ground as the Dutch winger burst in on goal on 36 minutes. Arsenal were handed a reprieve when David Alaba hit the post with substitute goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianskiheading in the opposite direction.
But the loss of a man proved too much of a hurdle for Arsene Wenger's side to overcome as Philipp Lahm found Toni Kroos, who left Fabianski with no chance from distance for the opening goal on 54 minutes.
With Robben stretching the home side as much as possible, Arsenal were forced to defend stoutly, only to be undone again when substitute Thomas Mueller arrived to head into the net from a Lahm cross with two minutes remaining.
Arsenal won 2-0 in Munich at the same stage of this tournament a year ago, but will need to replicate that outcome to force extra-time against the Champions League holders in the second leg on March 11. It looks highly likely that Arsenal will depart at the last-16 stage.
KEY MOMENTS
4' - SZCZESNY SAVE: Kroos unloads a shot from 25 yards out, and a brilliant diving stop by Wojciech Szczesny to nudge the ball wide. So close to an opening goal for Bayern. That was a terrific stop.
7' - ARSENAL EARN PENALTY: Ozil taken out late by Boateng, who is booked for that tackle. Was a soft penalty, but was a penalty.
8' - NEUER WITH THE SAVE: Ozil goes down the middle. Neuer stays up long enough before swatting the kick away with his right hand. Poor penalty.
36' - PENALTY TO BAYERN AND A RED CARD! Wojciech Szczesny has been sent off as he clips Robben in the air. Monreal failed to pick up the run of Robben. Poor defending by Monreal.
37' - ALABA MISSED THE PENALTY: Alaba misses the penalty. Ball comes off a post as Fabianski dived to his left. Two penalties have been missed. Score remains at 0-0. But Arsenal are one man down.
53' - FABIANSKI WITH THE SAVE: Robben works the angle well. Cuts inside before nudging a shot at the goal from 18 yards. Decent stop by Fabianski low to his right.
54' - KROOS FINDS THE OPENER: Kroos slams the ball high into the net from the Lahm pass. Gorgeous strike from distance. And that is a 1-0 lead for the visiting side.
69' - ROBBEN SEES A SHOT SPIN INCHES WIDE: Robben decides to try his luck, but the shot spins a few yards wide of goal. Brilliant effort. Almost a superb goal from the Dutchman.
88' - MULLER ADDS THE SECOND: Mueller heads into the gaping net from the Lahm cross. And that is that. A 2-0 lead for Bayern. Should be all over now.
Champions LeagueCosta snatches late Atletico win as Milan suffer
AC Milan's Mario Balotelli (L) is tackled by Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa. Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters
(Updated 7:26am) MILAN - Atletico Madrid gave AC Milan coach Clarence Seedorf an unhappy return to a competition he graced so magnificently as a player when the Spaniards first frustrated their opponents before snatching a late 1-0 Champions League win on Wednesday (Thursday, PHL time).
Diego Costa scored the only goal at the San Siro with a magnificent header seven minutes from time as Atletico proved too cagey and wily for Milan, who twice hit the woodwork in the first 20 minutes of a frenetic Round of 16 first-leg game.
Atletico, with coach Diego Simeone prowling the touchline in his familiar all-black outfit, tweaked Milan's nerves with repeated tactical fouling in midfield, giving away 20 free kicks
"We are a normal team and we try to profit from the situations we create," former Argentina captain Simeone told reporters. "We work with humility, we started gaining meters and we felt better as the game went on."
Milan, the only Italian survivors in the competition, had the better of the first half and players such as Kaka and Adel Taarabat showed odd flashes of skill to bring the San Siro to life.
However, awful defending after halftime gave Atletico encouragement and the Spanish side closed in for the kill in the last 20 minutes.
Dutchman Seedorf, who won a record four Champions League titles as a player with three different clubs, took over for his first coaching job in January after Massimiliano Allegri was sacked and is still settling into his new role.
"In the last 20 minutes, we paid for the effort we put in and we were less lucid, these things happen," Seedorf admitted.
Both sides showed their limitations in a first half which was fast and furious but also scrappy and littered with mistakes.
Chances wasted
Milan was unlucky not to take the lead when Taarabt slipped the ball to Kaka on the edge of the area and the Brazilian produced a delightful first-time shot with his left foot which goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois managed to tip on to the crossbar.
Milan was foiled again three minutes later when Taarabt curled a cross over from the right and Andrea Poli's downward header was tipped on to the foot of the post by the Belgian goalkeeper.
Former World Player of the Year Kaka was again a threat when he curled another shot just over the top with his right foot, this time from Mario Balotelli's clever backheel.
Balotelli also had a chance after a dreadful Gabi clearance but he side-footed his shot wide from the edge of the penalty area.
However, the hosts lost momentum after halftime and began to look shaky at the back.
At one point, Milan twice lost possession in their own third of the field in quick succession as they tried to play their way out of defense.
Kaka had another good opening just before the hour when he collected Ignazio Abate's pass, slipped past two defenders and shot just wide of the far post.
But, while Balotelli wasted several free kicks for Milan, Atletico were gaining in confidence and began threatening in the final 20 minutes and it was no surprise when they went ahead.
The visitors won a corner on the right, the ball deflected off the head of Abate and Diego Costa at the far post produced an astonishingly athletic leap to head his fifth goal of the competition. - Reuters
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