Club president Uli Hoeness’ trial overshadowed a subdued performance as Bayern Munich drew 1-1 with Arsenal to reach the Champions league quarterfinals with a 3-1 aggregate win from the round-of-16 on Tuesday.
With his trial for alleged tax evasion grabbing the headlines in Germany, Hoeness attended the game and was probably glad the spotlight left him, albeit temporarily.“Good luck to Bayern. They’re a good side but this side is more vulnerable than last year’s,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said.
Bayern captain Philipp lahm acknowledged Hoeness’ trial was in the players’ minds. “Of course it’s also an issue within the team,” lahm said.Bayern midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger finished coolly from Franck Ribery’s cross to put the defending champion in a commanding position in the 55th minute.
lukas Podolski responded within two minutes against his former side by dispossessing Philipp lahm in the penalty area and smashing the ball past Manuel Neuer to the roof of the net from an acute angle.
The goals breathed life into a game that Bayern mostly dominated. Nerves gripped the home side — perhaps as a result of the 2-0 home defeat to Arsenal at the same stage last season — but they didn’t last long. “We played with a lot of intelligence,” Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. “We deserved to progress.”
Thomas Mueller had the chance to make it 2-1 after Arjen Robben went down under laurent Koscielny’s challenge, but lukasz Fabianski saved his penalty on the line in injury time. “Progression was never in danger. The way (we did it) will be all the same tomorrow,” Mueller said.
Arsenal needed at least two goals but barely threatened in the first half. The home side enjoyed the lion’s share of possession and worked quickly to recover the ball after losing it. “We played a very, very good first half,” captain lahm said.
Dante earned a yellow card for taking down Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a counterattack in the eighth. The Arsenal midfielder would have been through on goal, and Dante will now miss Bayern’s next match.
Podolski forced a corner on another rare break. It was no trouble for the Bayern defense. The former Bayern forward was later booked for kicking the ball away in frustration. Javi Martinez thought he scored with a flick on from the resultant free kick but it was ruled offside.
Atletico beat Milan 4-1
MADRID: Diego Costa’s breakout season continued to be the catalyst to Atletico Madrid’s success as it beat AC Milan 4-1 to reach the Champions league quarterfinals on Tuesday for the first time since 1997.
Diego Costa added two more goals to his season tally, jumping high to stab home at the far post following a Milan turnover just three minutes into a raucous contest at the capacity Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Kaka gave Milan some hope by canceling out the opener in the 27th only to rue a glaring miss moments before Arda Turan volleyed over Milan goalkeeper Christian Abbiati to put Atletico back in front.
With Milan striker Mario Balotelli ineffective, Atletico choked its opponent with constant pressure after the restart and slowly began to pull away with Raul Garcia heading home before Diego Costa completed the 5-1 aggregate win with his 29th goal of the season.
Milan’s exit left Europe’s top-tier tournament without an Italian team in the last eight.
Atletico’s near 50,000 fans provided the Spanish club with extra pep throughout, but especially at the start when the hosts dominated a Milan team that seemed a step behind. “I’m happy because this is a group of men who interpret football in an extraordinary way,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. “They have incredible passion for our play. We played the game we needed to, especially at the start.”