London: Bayern Munich took a big step forward in its Champions League defense, emerging from an eventful, pulsating night at the Emirates with a 2-0 win over an Arsenal team now on the fade in two major competitions.
Thomas Muller’s late goal on a skillful diving header doubled the lead provided by Toni Kroos earlier in the second half, as Arsenal needed just a few more minutes of defending to escape with something better (a 1-0 loss, that is) against all the offensive might of Bayern’s high-scoring side.
Two penalty kick failures (one by each team) and a red card, all before the break, went a long way to deciding this one, as Arsenal was forced to play a man down against the defending UEFA champs for more than 50 minutes.
A slightly controversial decision from the man in the middle will be the topic around North London as Italian referee Nicola Rizzoli ejected Gunners goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after 38 minutes. Szczesny had brought down Bayern’s Arjen Robben near goal after the Bayern winger was put through on Kroos’ clever, chipped ball.
It was Kroos who finally broke through, putting the visitors in command with a sumptuous, well-placed right-footed shot in the 54th minute.
The game was alive from the start with both goalkeepers forced into quality saves within five minutes.
The best was from Gunners ‘keeper Szczesny, whose flying, fingertip save on Kroos’ well-aimed effort from 20 yards was surely among the best stops of all the Round-of-16 matches. (Agencies)