Bayern Munich routed FC Basel with another seven-goal haul while Mario Gomez almost reached Lionel Messi’s newly-set five-goal individual record.
Bayern Munich 7 (Robben 11’, 81’, Muller 42’, Gomez 44’, 50’, 61’, 67’) def FC Basel 0, Bayern win 7-1 on aggregate
After a 7-1 thrashing of Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on the weekend, Bayern continued on their goalscoring ways with a rout of Swiss champions Basel. The German giants raced to a three-goal lead by the break to all but seal their passage, before Mario Gomez scored the fastest ever four-goal haul in this competition with Arjen Robben rounding out the thrashing. Bayern now loom as a serious contender for the Champions League crown.
Bayern boss Jupp Heynckes said: “We put together a pretty good performance on Saturday but this… before the game I got the impression in and around the squad that they wanted to go through no matter what. The team were very focused today.”
He added: “It was an absolutely great game, from the very first minute to the last. I especially liked how we played with such intelligence after taking the lead. We played very measured football, took our foot off the pedal and ran the ball from one side to the pitch to the other; we used the space very, very well. The first half was perfect.”
Basel coach Heiko Vogel said: “I suffered, and over and over again I looked at my watch and thought: ‘When will this match end?’ But you have to see this as something to endure and take as much as you can away from it; you perhaps learn more in games like these than the wins before. And that’s what the boys have to do now. You have to talk about Bayern’s quality, though: they played themselves into a frenzy.”
Inter Milan 2 (Milito 75’, Pazzini 90+6’) def Olympique Marseille 1 (Brandao 90+2’), Marseille win 3-2 on away goals
2010 champions Inter bowed out in the Round of 16 after substitute Brandao netted the vital away goal in stoppage-time to send 1993 winners Marseille through to the final eight. Inter had the better chances in the first half but couldn’t take them. They had to wait until the 75th minute when Diego Milito appeared to have sent the game to extra-time before 88th-minute substitute Brandao netted a stunning goal. Giampaolo Pazzini pulled one back from the spot after Steve Mandanda saw red for a foul in the box, but that proved to be the final kick of the game.
OM boss Didier Deschamps said about Brandao: “When I put him on, he told me he would score. It’s fabulous, I think we were great. There were chances for both sides and we were a bit shy offensively, but we hurt them in a similar fashion to the first leg; in an Italian style.”
Deschamps added: “We faced a great quality team. Steve Mandanda saved us in the first half but Inter scored 15 minutes from time. We knew that we could have conceded again but especially that we had to score. We feel huge pride. It shows that, in football, belief is key until the final whistle is blown.”
Inter manager Claudio Ranieri is now under increasing pressure and said: “Tonight’s game is a mirror of our season. As in Marseille we were the best team and wasted two or three chances. In 180 minutes we allowed them only three shots on target, but only teams that are able to score win football matches. My compliments to Marseille; this is football and we must accept the outcome.”