Marseille 0 Bayern Munich 2:MARSEILLE'S DECISION to field third-choice goalkeeper Elinton Andrade backfired as his mistake gifted Bayern Munich the opening goal in their Champions League quarter-final last night.
The 32-year-old, preferred to number-two Gennaro Bracigliano with first-choice Steve Mandanda suspended, allowed Mario Gomez’s shot to squirm under his body in the 44th minute of the first leg at the Stade Velodrome. Arjen Robben added a classy second midway through the second half.
Marseille should have gone in front in the seventh minute when Manuel Neuer produced a one-handed save to keep out Rod Fanni’s powerful header. The rebound fell to Loic Remy, who could only slice his effort into the side-netting. The hosts were looking vulnerable at the back, though. Thomas Muller hesitated when he got beyond the last defender, choosing to pull the ball back from the byline when an early shot would have been the better option.
Bayern struggled to test Andrade until a minute before half-time his mistake handed them the lead. With Marseille appealing for a handball at the other end, a Bayern counter-attack ended with Robben playing in Gomez. The striker’s shot from the edge of the area was hardly unstoppable but it squirmed under Andrade’s body.
The visitors had another opening early in the second half, but Fanni got back to clear the ball off the toes of Muller as he bore down on goal. Andrade went a little way to making up for his earlier error by blocking another Gomez shot from inside the area before Remy almost embarrassed Jerome Boateng. The Marseille man won the ball off the defender on the edge of the area, but his stabbed shot hit Neuer and deflected away.
But Bayern doubled their lead in the 69th minute with a beautifully crafted and expertly finished goal. Robben played a one-two with Muller, breaking into the area from the right as he ran on to the return pass and then sliding a finish into the far corner.
MARSEILLE: Andrade, Azpilicueta, Fanni, N’Koulou, Morel, Diarra (Cheyrou 71), M’bia Etoundi, Amalfitano (Brandao 68), Valbuena, Andre Ayew, Remy. Subs Not Used: Bracigliano, Gignac, Kabore, Traore, Jordan Ayew. Booked: Diarra, M’bia Etoundi.
BAYERN MUNICH: Neuer, Lahm, Boateng, Badstuber, Alaba, Gustavo, Kroos (Tymoschuk 63), Robben, Muller (Schweinsteiger 70), Ribery (Pranjic 78), Gomez. Subs Not Used: Butt, Olic, Rafinha, Contento. Booked: Lahm, Kroos, Gustavo, Schweinsteiger, Alaba.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain).
