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Champions League preview: Bayern Munich v Inter Milan
14 March 2011
Bayern Munich prepared for Tuesday's Champions League second leg with Inter Milan by thrashing Hamburg 6-0 on Saturday.
The Germans had been in crisis since winning 1-0 at the San Siro in the first leg.
All that changed against Hamburg as Bayern halted their plummet down the Bundesliga standings and gave coach Louis Van Gaal, who will leave at the end of the season, some respite.
Dutch midfielder Arjen Robben scored a hat-trick and Franck Ribery had one goal and a major role in another to help Bayern bounce back from three straight defeats in eight days.
"One day we are very bad and everything is a catastrophe," Robben said.
"Now we are again a super team. Unfortunately, that's how it is in football." "We played a great game and finally saw the real Bayern Munich," Robben said.
"We reacted to our problems and it's the best way to prepare for Inter. It was a struggle at first, but once we broke the deadlock, a weight was taken off our shoulders.
"In the locker room we said to each other that the time had come to start playing well again. We did it and we're happy. I have great faith in this team's chances of success."
Ribery also feels it was a turning point in the campaign for the Germans.
"We earned an important victory, both for us and our fans. It was the right way to respond to recent difficulties," said the France international.
"Six goals, that's great and it's also very important for Tuesday's game. But it's going to be a very dangerous game."
Meanwhile, Inter will take their entire squad, including Lucio, to Munich. Lucio is a major doubt after suffering an upper thigh strain in the 1-1 draw with Brescia.
The defender, a former Bayern man, has been called up with Thiago Motta, Esteban Cambiasso and Cristian Chivu, who are not 100 per cent fit.
Only the injured Diego Milito, Walter Samuel and David Suazo have stayed in Milan.
PREVIEW - Man United face Marseille full of surprises
By Sonia Oxley 02:00 GMT, Mon 14 Mar 2011
MANCHESTER, England, March 14 (Reuters) - Manchester United sprung a surprise by fielding seven defenders at the weekend and may be poised for another against Olympique Marseille in the Champions League with Nani close to an early return from injury.
Manager Alex Ferguson had ruled him out of Tuesday's last-16 second leg as the Portuguese recovers from a gashed leg but seemed to change his mind before the French champions head to Old Trafford following last month's 0-0 draw in Marseille.
"Nani has had the stitches removed and has a chance for Tuesday," Ferguson was quoted as saying by the Manchester Evening News on Sunday. "He's done some work on the bike, but the problem is that he hasn't trained yet."
Marseille only needed to have looked at United's team sheet for Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Arsenal to witness Ferguson's ability to shock, as he named a lineup with only one recognised midfielder which still beat the Londoners 2-0.
Grappling with a raft of injuries, and wanting to rest the likes of Darren Fletcher, Michael Carrick, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes, Ferguson drafted in full backs Rafael, Fabio and John O'Shea who performed well in midfield.
"I couldn't risk Scholes and Giggs because of Tuesday's game against Marseille, such a vital game for the club, so Darron Gibson had to play as the only natural midfielder," Ferguson told MUTV.
United were boosted by winger Antonio Valencia coming through 45 minutes on Saturday, his first appearance since breaking and dislocating his ankle in September.
He looked sharp enough to be a viable replacement for Nani if the Portuguese sits out the game as had been expected following last Sunday's injury.
The English side have the upper hand at Old Trafford where they are undefeated this season and where they have never lost to French opposition, although a score draw would put the visitors through.
INSIDER KNOWLEDGE
Marseille could benefit from insider knowledge as their Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze knows Old Trafford well from his three years at United from 2004 and he was looking forward to returning to the site of so many good memories.
"My first big moment at Old Trafford was when the fans and my team voted me as best player," he told UEFA's website. "To go on to win the domestic league title with Manchester United -- my first -- was unforgettable."
Premier League leaders United will be bracing themselves for an onslaught from a Marseille side who go into the game lifted by a 2-0 win over Stade Rennes in Ligue 1 at the weekend.
Playmaker Lucho Gonzalez, who netted the second goal against Rennes, was at his brilliant best and France forward Loic Remy opened the scoring.
They will be without Brazilian striker Brandao, who went back to his native country for a week after being put under formal investigation in an alleged rape case.
Marseille, who won the first ever Champions League title in 1993, and three-times European champions United kick off at 1945 GMT on Tuesday.
Possible teams:
Manchester United: 1-Edwin van der Sar; 21-Rafael; 5-Nemanja Vidic, 12-Chris Smalling, 3-Patrice Evra; 11-Ryan Giggs, 18-Paul Scholes, 16-Michael Carrick, 24-Darren Fletcher; 10-Wayne Rooney, 9-Dimitar Berbatov
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will miss AC Milan's crucial derby with Inter Milan after receiving a three-game suspension for punching Bari's Marco Rossi.
Ibrahimovic was shown a straight red for the incident during Milan's shock 1-1 draw with Bari on Sunday, which occurred after Rossi marked the star striker off a cross in the second half.
A frustrated Ibrahimovic, who has not scored a goal from free play in seven league games, punched Rossi after the ball had been cleared and was duly sent on his way by referee Christian Brighi.
A statement from Serie A's disciplinary committee read: "Three-match ban for Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Milan for irregular behaviour after having hit an opposition player in the abdomen, making him fall to the ground without injury consequences."
The club are expected to appeal the suspension, which would see the Sweden international miss games against Palermo, Fiorentina and, on April 3, Inter.
Milan lead the Serie A table but are facing a strong challenge from Inter, who have closed to within five points under new boss Leonardo with nine games remaining in the campaign.
Ibrahimovic leads Milan's scoring with 14 goals this season but has been out of form since February.
MUNICH, March 15 (Reuters) - Holders Inter Milan stunned Bayern Munich with an 88th-minute goal from Goran Pandev to win 3-2 on Tuesday to scrape through to the Champions League quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Inter, who also beat Bayern in last year's final, got off to a dream start with a goal from Samuel Eto'o on four minutes, cancelling out the German team's 1-0 win in Italy in the first leg last month.
The Bavarians levelled through Mario Gomez and took a well-deserved lead thanks to Thomas Mueller on 31 minutes before missing several good chances.
Inter equalised through Dutchman Wesley Sneijder just past the hour and grabbed the winner through Pandev who fired in left-footed from just inside the box with two minutes to go.
Earlier, the holders went ahead when Eto'o narrowly beat the offside trap to slot his eighth goal of this season's competition.
Inter then started to concede too much space in midfield and Gomez also struck his eighth Champions League goal of the season after a terrible mistake by goalkeeper Julio Cesar who spilled a straight-forward shot at the striker's feet.
The home team were on target again in the 31st minute when Mueller took advantage of a blunder from Inter defender Thiago Motta.
Bayern missed two good chances before halftime when Franck Ribery's chip went wide and Gomez's effort rolled agonisingly along the line before Andrea Ranocchia cleared off the post.
Sneijder levelled for the Italians with a fierce drive into the bottom corner of the net in the 63rd minute, setting the stage for Pandev to steal the late glory after an entertaining end-to-end match.
Javier Hernandez scored twice to send Manchester United into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 victory over Marseille.
The Mexican striker, chosen ahead of top scorer Dimitar Berbatov, rewarded his manager's faith with a smartly-taken, close-range finish in each half before Marseille replied through a Wes Brown own goal late on.
That was enough to clinch a 2-1 aggregate victory for United who had drawn the first leg 0-0 in France.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson had promised his team would go all out for victory in this tie and he was true to his word as the home side took the lead after only five minutes.
Wayne Rooney volleyed a wonderful pass out to the wing, received the return ball from Ryan Giggs and crossed low for Hernandez to score from close range.
It was a classic United goal and they had plenty more chances in an entertaining first half, including a penalty claim when Hernandez appeared to be sent tumbling following a break-away move.
But Marseille were by no means bystanders and created a string of opportunities themselves.
Andre-Pierre Gignac wasted one wonderful chance when clean through, while Souleymane Diawara should have scored when he headed narrowly wide from a well-worked short-corner.
United had winger Nani back in action ahead of schedule after recovering from a cut in his shin but were without Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand in defence because of calf injuries.
Their defensive worries worsened, too, when substitute Rafael Da Silva was carried off in the second half and John O'Shea departed after only 37 minutes with a hamstring injury.
But fortunately United could still rely on goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, who saved smartly from Cheyrou after 75 minutes to deny the French side an equaliser.
It proved crucial because seconds later United clinched the tie, Hernandez grabbing his second of the night after substitute Antonio Valencia set up Giggs to cross low into the box.
Hernandez's calmly side-footed finish was typical of the striker who has now scored 16 goals this season.
Marseille gave the home team a nervy finale after Wes Brown headed a Gonzalez corner into his own net after 83 minutes, despite Paul Scholes' attempts to clear it off the line.
But United eventually made it safely through and await Friday's quarter-final draw with interest.
Champions League preview: Chelsea v FC Copenhagen 15 March 2011
Chelsea welcome FC Copenhagen in their Champions League round of 16 second-leg clash on Wednesday riding high after some strong recent form.
The Blues hold a 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Denmark, and are firm favourites to progress to the quarter-finals following their round of 16 exit at the hands of eventual champions Inter last year.
A Nicholas Anelka brace ensured Chelsea would enter the second leg in good shape, but Fernando Torres, who arrived under a media frenzy, is yet to score for his new side and will be itching to get his name on the scoresheet in the Champions League.
The Champions League trophy is priority number one at Stamford Bridge, with boss Carlo Ancelotti conceding the Premier League title following an abysmal turn of form from November.
Recent results however - including a 2-1 win over league leaders Manchester United - suggest Ancelotti may have been too hasty to write off their chances.
With that in mind, the Italian's team selection for Wednesday's game could be influenced by the prospect of Sunday's crunch English Premier League clash with Manchester City at home.
Copenhagen will make the trip to London desperate to atone for their dismal showing in the first leg, but perhaps their lack of touch should not have been a surprise having not played a competitive game for 11 weeks with the Danish league on its winter break.
They will be aiming to become the first Scandinavian side to win a game in the Champions League knockout stage, but will have to do so without suspended Czech right-back Zdenek Pospech.
The Danish champions will have to make history to have any hope of progressing to the quarter-finals - having never before beating Chelsea.
And if that is not a daunting enough prospect for Stale Solbakken's men, Chelsea have lost just one of their past 25 Champions League games at home.
Real Madrid host Lyon in their Champions League second-leg clash on Wednesday with the Spanish giants favoured to progress to the last eight.
Madrid are primed for their first quarter-final appearance in the Champions League in six years due to their precious away goal from the 1-1 stalemate at le Stade de Gerland a fortnight ago.
But recent history has proven progression is not a given for the nine-time champions, and that Lyon provide staunch opposition.
Real are yet to defeat Lyon and bowed out of the competition last season at the hands of the former Ligue 1 champions.
However, manager Jose Mourinho is not afraid of Lyon, having dispatched the French side in the Champions League during his reign as Porto coach.
"My team are not afraid of recent history; statistics exist so that we can go out and contradict them," the Portuguese said.
"Sure [Lyon] have quality, but we must eliminate them," he said. "[But] I've already done that [with Porto] on my way to winning the tournament."
Also in Real's favour is their imperious home record, extended on the weekend to 14 games following the 2-0 defeat of Hercules, with the vastly-improving Karim Benzema heading the attack with a fine brace.
The Frenchman, who arrived at Madrid from Lyon in 2009, will be keen to stretch his scoring run when he meets his former side, having netted against them in the first tie.
Olympique Lyon are aiming to reach the last eight of the Champions League for a second year running.
The French side will take plenty of confidence from their resounding 2-0 win over Sochaux on the weekend to Spain.
Lyon, who are four points off the pace in Ligue 1, will also be buoyed by the inclusion of mercurial left-back Aly Cissokho in the travelling party to the Spanish capital.
The once-capped Frenchman was expected to miss the second leg due to picking up a knock during training last week.
Playmaker Yoann Gourcuff is also in the squad after missing the league victory on the weekend.
Lyon, however, will be without Brazilian winger Michel Bastos. The former Lille man is suspended for the clash after picking up a yellow card in the first tie.
Chelsea made it through to the Champions League quarter-finals but missed a string of chances in an uninspiring 0-0 draw against FC Copenhagen.
Carlo Ancelotti's side qualified courtesy of a 2-0 victory in the first leg and were never in any danger of missing out on the last eight, but there was an air of frustration at Stamford Bridge as Copenhagen kept their more illustrious hosts at bay.
Frank Lampard wasted a particularly good chance in almost the first minute, turning his shot wide after excellent work from the over-lapping Ashley Cole.
Cole himself missed another effort after that before setting up a chance for Yuri Zhirkov that faded past the far post.
Nicolas Anelka was denied by goalkeeper Johan Wiland and Didier Drogba shot tamely when clean through before half-time.
In between all that frenzy of attacking action Chelsea also had a minor scare when Dame N'Doye's free-kick hit the bar for Copenhagen, but that was a rare foray into enemy territory for the Danish visitors.
They certainly defended well, however, as Chelsea's profligacy continued in the second half with Anelka particularly guilty.
Eventually Ancelotti took off the Frenchman in favour of Fernando Torres after 68 minutes - and the former Liverpool man was denied his first goal for his new club by a flying save from Wiland six minutes later.
By the end Chelsea looked short of ideas and inspiration and although they join fellow Premier League sides Tottenham and Manchester United in the quarter-finals it was hardly an advert for their ambition to win the coveted trophy for the first time.
Champions League: Real Madrid 3 Lyon 0 16 March 2011
Real Madrid eased their way into the Champions League quarter-finals with a comprehensive 3-0 win over Lyon at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Real, who held a narrow advantage on away goals after the opening leg in France ended 1-1, always looked in control at home and gave up few chances while creating plenty of their own.
Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo was back in Jose Mourinho's 11 after recovering from a hamstring injury, lasting 73 minutes and playing a hand in Marcelo's opening goal.
French striker Karim Benzema put the tie beyond doubt after the hour, and Angel Di Maria added another for good measure as Real clinched the tie with a 4-1 overall aggregate.
The result gives Real a boost of confidence as they head back to La Liga to face city rivals Atletico on Saturday.
The hosts were creating trouble for Lyon from the outset and needed just five minutes to come close to an opener through Sami Khedira, whose header from their first set-piece struck the left post.
Goalkeeper Iker Casillas produced a fine diving save to redirect Cesar Delgado's swipe from range beyond the right post - one of Lyon's few real opportunities in the first half - while at the other end Lyon custodian Hugo Lloris did well to punch Ronaldo's flat attempt over the bar.
But a Real goal seemed inevitable given their complete dominance, and it came in the 37th minute after some terrific by-play between Marcelo and Ronaldo.
The Brazilian left-back bullied his way to the edge of the area on a one-two with Ronaldo, cut inside a sliding Dejan Lovren and chipped his shot beyond Lloris to lift the Bernabeu to full voice.
Benzema, who had found the net eight times in his past six matches, started to press for a goal of his own in the shadows of half-time.
He found his way past Lloris with a header on 42 minutes, though it was rightfully disallowed for offside, and three minutes later Lloris produced an acrobatic leap to tip the Frenchman's finish over the bar.
But there was still time aplenty for the former Lyon man, whose 66th-minute goal owed much to a terrific ball by Marcelo.
The Brazilian's deep through pass cut Lyon's defence open, allowing Benzema to go one out with Lloris in the area and slide in an easy finish.
With the tie all but sealed Lyon's heads bowed, allowing Mesut Ozil to get away a deft flick-on for Di Maria to race through and place his shot under the bar on 76 minutes.
Inter yes, but not Barca in my opinion.
Shaktar is not an easy opinion especially at their home ground.
But it will still be a Barca vs Real semi final.
Real vs Spurs should be a great QF.
Inter yes, but not Barca in my opinion.
Shaktar is not an easy opinion especially at their home ground.
But it will still be a Barca vs Real semi final.
Real vs Spurs should be a great QF.
If Barca & Inter win their respective qtf, they will meet in the semis. If you're saying there will be El Classico IV at Wembley, then I have to agree with you. It will be a mouth watering finale.
Reigning champions Inter Milan enter Tuesday's Champions League clash with Schalke on a low after losing league ground at the weekend.
Inter fell five points adrift of Serie A leaders and bitter rivals AC Milan following a 3-0 loss in Saturday's 'Derby della Madonnina'.
The result shapes as possibly the killer blow to Inter's hopes of retaining the Scudetto in Italy, a feat that seemed nigh-impossible as Rafael Benitez's tenure plumbed new depths earlier in the campaign.
Brazilian manager Leonardo has led the treble-winning champions to a stunning turnaround since taking over in late December, with Saturday's loss the first real setback of his reign.
But Inter still have plenty of reason to feel confident in Europe, after their spirited come-from-behind 3-2 win at Bayern Munich that sealed their progression to the quarter-finals.
Next up is another German club in Schalke, who have under-achieved in the Bundesliga this term but still bundled out Spanish club Valencia 4-2 on aggregate in the round-of-16.
Mixed form at league level has seen Schalke fall to 11th on the German table, one year after finishing runners-up behind Bayern Munich, prompting the unexpected sacking of manager Felix Magath last month.
Tuesday's trip to the San Siro will be a stern test for new boss Ralf Rangnick, who has never before coached in the Champions League knockout stages.
Rangnick may have to make do without a number of first-choice players on Tuesday, notably defender Christoph Metzelder, who broke his nose against St Pauli on Friday.
Mario Gavranovic (ankle) and Peer Kluge (abdomen) also picked up injuries in Friday's league match, which was abandoned with Schalke leading 2-0 after the assistant referee was hit by a cup of beer thrown from the stands.
Inter's biggest absence looks to be Brazilian defender Lucio, who will sit out the match due to suspension and is expected to be replaced by Colombian Ivan Cordoba.
Inter have been troubled without Lucio, and Andrea Ranocchia has been exposed in recent fixtures by Bayern and AC Milan without his partner in central defence.
Whether Ranocchia and Cordoba can work together to limit Schalke's movement will play a big part in determining the winner of Tuesday's opening leg.
The return leg will be played in Germany next week.
Tottenham and Real Madrid both have a key playmaker in doubt for their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Spain on Tuesday.
The first 90 minutes of the final-eight clash is under threat of being overshadowed by the conspicuous absence of several big names; none bigger than Portuguese ace Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who has netted 27 goals in La Liga this season, is struggling with a hamstring injury and sat out Real's 1-0 loss to Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
That defeat ended manager Jose Mourinho's nine-year, 150-game unbeaten run in league matches at home, a stretch that began when the Portuguese boss was at the helm of Porto and included tenures with Chelsea and Inter Milan.
The loss also gifted league rivals Barcelona an eight-point gap on top of the Spanish table, effectively narrowing Real's hopes of a title in 2010-11 to one last resort - Europe.
To get there - and achieve his stated aim of winning the Champions League with three different clubs - Mourinho must extract the very best of a squad that could be reeling from the loss of Ronaldo and several other key players.
Los Blancos were also without French goal-scoring machine Karim Benzema, Brazilian full-back Marcelo and Spanish World Cup winner Xabi Alonso on the weekend, with only the latter likely of taking to the pitch against Tottenham.
Ronaldo is no certainty, with Mourinho admitting playing the attacking midfielder would be to 'gamble' with his fitness.
Spurs, meanwhile, will be hoping they can make it back-to-back Real losses at the Bernabeu when they pay a visit, but are sweating on the fitness of Welsh winger Gareth Bale.
The 21-year-old, who has proven indispensable to manager Harry Redknapp in Tottenham's surprisingly successful European campaign, has been troubled by a lingering hamstring strain.
He sat out Spurs' 0-0 draw with Wigan Athletic in the English Premier League as a precaution, but is expected to play some part in the quarter-final.
South Africa international Steven Pienaar will not feature, after he confirmed on Twitter that his troublesome groin injury had ruled him out of the trip to Madrid.
Spurs have only reached the semi-finals of the premier European tournament once before in 1962, and their limp league form heading into the home stretch has almost certainly resigned them to missing out next season.
Buoyed by their 1-0 away victory at AC Milan in the last round, as well as Real's untimely injury concerns, Tottenham will be confident of taking at least an even ledger into their home leg next week.
:oIo:
