Thanks to a comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory at the Allianz Arena three weeks ago, Bayern Munich were very much in the driver’s seat against Arsenal. On Tuesday, they simply added insult to injury for an Arsenal team that continues to flounder.
Bayern was able to cruise their way into a quarterfinal berth of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday after a 5-1 second leg victory.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side were given an early scare at the Emirates Stadium after Theo Walcott opened the scoring for the hosts after 20 minutes, finishing from a tough angle. However, the match flipped on its head just after half-time as Laurent Koscielny saw a straight-red card after fouling Robert Lewandowski inside the box for a penalty kick. The German slotted home the penalty which started the onslaught for Bayern.
Arjen Robben’s 68th minute finish made it 2-1, before substitute Douglas Costa rifled home from long-range in the 78th minute. A pair of right-footed efforts from Arturo Vidal in the 80th and 85th minutes respectively stamped the final score at 5-1, and 10-2 on aggregate. Arsenal exit the competition at the Round of 16 for the sixth consecutive time, while never looking too dangerous after going down to 10-men during Tuesday’s match.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fDXHcRlmV0
Bayern advance past the Round of 16 for the sixth consecutive year, and will be heavily favored to continue towards a sixth all-time title.
REAL MADRID ADVANCE PAST NAPOLI
Current Champions League holders Real Madrid eased past Napoli, 3-1 (6-2), in their second-leg meeting at the San Paolo despite an early scare by the Italians.
Alvaro Morata’s 91st minute strike capped off a great evening for Zinedine Zidane’s side as they advance past the Round of 16 for a seventh consecutive time. Despite Dries Mertens opening the scoring for Napoli after 24 minutes, the Italians only created three shots-on-goal.
Cristiano Ronaldo saw his effort go off the post in the 29th minute after the Portuguese rounded Napoli keeper Pepe Reina. Mertens came close to doubling his tally in the 37th after his right-footed effort went off the left post. Sergio Ramos’ 51st minute header proved to be the turn-around for Real Madrid, as an own-goal off Mertens six minutes later, gave Madrid their second away goal.
Substitute Morata stamped the final score at 3-1 on the evening, which was the same score-line at the Santiago Bernabeu three weeks ago in the first meeting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqdIrHu30rI
Napoli’s strong run may have ended, but the Italians will now look to give Juventus a run for the Serie A title. Real Madrid who also have the La Liga race to worry about, will be a dangerous opponent for anyone in the quarterfinals as they look to lift their 12th Champions League title.
The Round of 16 second legs continue on Wednesday with Barcelona hosting Paris Saint-Germain, looking to overcome a 4-0 first leg defeat. (2:45 p.m., Fox Sports 1). Borussia Dortmund welcome Benfica to the Signal Iduna Park in Wednesday’s other fixture, looking to flip a 1-0 first leg defeat (2:45 p.m., Fox Sports 2).