Uncharacteristically muted Bayern lost 2-0 to a courageous Arsenal side at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday evening, meaning the Champions League Round of 16 tie ended 3-3 on aggregate. However, the men from Munich progress to the quarter-finals for the 12th time in 16 attempts on away goals, although the result also ended FCB’s 23-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
The travelling support among the 68,000 capacity crowd in Munich erupted after just three minutes when Olivier Giroud fired home from close range, but the Bundesliga leaders moved to quell the threat and dominated possession for the rest of the first half, without creating much more than half-chances of their own.
Jupp Heynckes clearly had words with his troops at half-time as the home side looked a lot livelier after the restart, but a couple of openings went begging and backup keeper Lukasz Fabianski saved brilliantly from Arjen Robben. It became tense in the last quarter of an hour and nail-bitingly so five minutes from time when Laurent Koscielny doubled the Gunners’ lead, but Heynckes’ side dug deep and saw out time with no further damage.
After edging into the Champions League last eight, all eyes at the club now turn to Friday’s quarter-final draw, where the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, and domestic rivals Dortmund lie in wait. The Reds are back in Bundesliga action on Saturday evening in an attractive-looking fixture away to third-placed Bayer Leverkusen.
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