Basel bests Bayern in CL
February 23, 2012
Manchester United, stopped from advancing to the knock-out phase of the Champions League thanks to the inspired play of FC Basel in both of their group-stage games, probably feels some sense of relief after watching Basel grab a late 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 on Wednesday night. Now they can say to themselves, 'at least we're not the only ones.'
Bayern Munich too is now on the list of European giants the Swiss champions have gotten the better of in this Champions League season.
They had an answer for everything Bayern threw at them Wednesday night in Basel, with keeper Yann Sommer frustrating the Bayern offense time and time again with excellent saves all night long.
In the end, Basel's persistence paid off, and they were able to score the decisive goal in the 86th minute and hang on for the win.
Bayern in control
Despite not coming up with a goal, Bayern were in control for much of the match, and the chances came early and often for the guests from Munich.
Sommer was the only thing coming between a three-goal Bayern lead after just 10 minutes, expertly blocking good chances from Franck Ribery and Mario Gomez.
Basel were actively creating chances in the first half as well, but were twice denied goals by balls bouncing off the woodwork. First, after 17 minutes, Basel's Aleksander Dragovic placed an excellent header past Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer but it glanced off the right post. The deflection danced near the goal line, but Bayern's Holger Badstuber cleared before it had a chance of going it.
Then, in the 19th minute, Basel's Alexander Frei, unmarked in front of the goal, took a shot that caught the wrong edge of the cross bar and deflected away.
Play settled down a bit after 20 minutes, with Bayern remaining in control but not having any great chances, and the teams went to the locker rooms tied at 0-0.
Can't catch a break
The second half was overwhelmingly dominated by Bayern. They hardly ever seemed to give up possession, but were still unable to capitalize on numerous scoring chances. Arjen Robben was fouled just outside the area and given a promising free kick in the 64th minute. The kick bounced off Basel's wall, and Gomez's attempt at a bicycle kick to clean up a rebound was no problem for Sommer.
A few minutes later, Gomez was alone approaching the goal from the left side, but again Sommer got in the way.
Perhaps it was frustration on behalf of Bayern, or a renewed effort on behalf of Basel, but the tables turned around the 78th minute. Basel worked the ball forward and earned a corner kick, and while it was unsuccessful, Basel's determination grew stronger to put the match away.
Bayern's defense were a big help to this end, allowing Jacques Zoua to dribble along the 16-meter (18-yard) line and fire off a pass to substitute Valentin Stocker, who took a touch and fired past Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer in the 86th minute. Bayern had a few more chances in the closing minutes of the game, but Basel was able to push these attacks back as well, holding on for the 1-0 win.
Times of trouble
Bayern keeper Neuer praised the Swiss side for their play.
"You can't really say it was undeserved," he said. "We only have ourselves to blame. We didn't take our chances and didn't create enough in the second half. There are things we have to clearly address internally."
The loss to Basel is just the latest disappointment for Bayern. They've gone 240 minutes without scoring a goal, including a 0-0 draw over the weekend to the Bundesliga's last-place side, Freiburg. It's also the first time in 24 years Bayern has lost to a Swiss team.
That fact was not lost on keeper Yann Sommer.
"We have beaten two of the best teams in the world here now - Manchester United, from who we took four points in total, and Bayern, which is unbelievable for a Swiss team," he said.
The second leg takes place in Munich on March 13.
While Basel's game-winner came late in the game against Bayern, Olympic Marseille topped the Swiss in their game against Inter Milan. Andre Ayew headed the home team ahead in injury time to give them the 1-0 win. Their second leg against Milan is also on March 13.
mz/pfd (DPA, AP)