Daniel van Buyten’s 15th-minute header was just enough to earn Bayern a vital Champions League victory in rain-soaked Bucharest on Wednesday.
The 13,379 who braved an incessant downpour at the Ghencea stadium saw the visitors utterly dominate the opening exchanges and seize the lead through the big Belgian, but the eager home side matched the technically superior Bavarians after that and the rest of the half was peppered with chances at both ends.
The German champions continued to dictate the play for quarter of an hour after the break, but then opted to shut up shop a shade early for their supporters’ comfort, and there were one or two hairy moments in front of the away goal before the three points were safely in the bag.
Van Bommel restored
Bayern boss Jürgen Klinsmann made just one change to the side which cruised to victory in Cologne last weekend, restoring captain Mark van Bommel in the holding role in place of young Andreas Ottl.
That meant Munich again lined up in a 3-5-2 formation with Lucio, Martin Demichelis and Van Buyten in a back three, nominal full-backs Christian Lell and Philipp Lahm pushing up into a midfield also featuring Ze Roberto and Bastian Schweinsteiger, and Miro Klose alongside Champions League debutant Luca Toni up front.
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