Look out, Barcelona.
Franck Ribery’s Bayern Munich swept aside Basel tonight at the Allianz in a commanding, virtuoso performance that gives the German giants real hope of playing for the European Cup in their home turf this May. Blitzing Basel, Bayern came away with a 7-0 win, and a four-goal game from Mario Gomez.
In Italy, Inter Milan's woes continued in the San Siro, when they conceded a horrible goal in stoppage time and were eliminated by a Marseille team that thoroughly deserved to make the last eight. Marseille make the quarters for the first time since 1993, while Inter must now go back and decide the fate of their manager, Claudio Ranieri. It is difficult to see how he can survive.
A lot of ink was spilled last week on Barcelona’s mauling of Bayer Leverkusen. There, Lionel Messi made history by becoming the first man to score five goals in a Champions League game. No one doubts Barcelona’s talent or power, and most would tip them against any opponent, every single game.
Bayern may cause some folks to rethink that after a week in which they blasted 15 goals past two pretty decent teams. OK, one of them was an own goal, but 7-1 against Hoffenheim and now 7-0 against Basel — a Basel side that knocked off mighty Manchester United, you might recall — is pretty darn impressive.
Mario Gomez, who scored his second hat trick of the tournament tonight — he’d end up with four, just one shy of Messi — isn’t even the biggest story on the night. The fact that this Bayern team has recovered from a series of self-inflicted wounds and internal sniping, are going to make things difficult for opposing teams down the stretch.
Ribery was unquestionably the man of the match, rampaging down the far flank and terrorizing Aleksandar Dragovic in the middle. Ribery set up four of the goals with the same move: twisting his defender into the turf, then firing the ball with precision to his target. Gomez’s third goal came with Markus Steinhoffer desperately tried to grab hold of the Frenchman to no avail, as Ribery’s perfectly floated ball allowed Gomez to nod past Yann Sommer unmolested.
Arjen Robben — who has battled injury and indifference — was also a man possessed. Unusually tonight, his goals didn’t come off his trademark sweeps from right to left that seem to freeze defenders of all stripes. His first strike came when Sommer was unable to hold Thomas Muller’s shot, allowing him a simple tap; his second came when a broken Basel side failed to intercept Bastian Schweinsteiger’s cutting ball through the middle and Robben was left an open net after gliding two steps to his left.
Robben and Ribery looked like the “Robbery” combo of old. Even Muller — who was in the midst of a deep goal drought — was the beneficiary, slickly volleying the one-two set up from the duo near the post in classic fashion. And with those two pulling and prodding even a very organized, if outmatched Basel side apart, the Swiss had no chance.
Prior to kickoff, it was reported that Franz Beckenbauer had paid an unusual visit to Bayern’s locker room. He said nothing to the players, and it’s clear he didn’t have to. After months of finger-pointing and self-flagellation, this appears to be a Bayern team that has discovered how to win big again.
In the other match, the French came to Italy carrying the lead but never played as if they were in Milan simply to defend. And when Wesley Sneijder and Diego Milito both squandered golden chances in the first 15 minutes, each contained by keeper Steve Mandanda, Inter settled back into the type of performance that has characterized their season.
Once again, Inter dominated. And once again, they did not get what was needed from either Sneijder or Diego Forlan. Ranieri, in fact, pulled both on the hour, although it appeared Sneijder had picked up a muscle pull and asked to be removed. In the end, Inter failed to convert their few chances and coughed up the game with a piece of dreadful defending. There can be no mistaking the type of collapse this was.
Marseille, often with Alou Diara and Mathieu Valbuena taking control in central spaces, had plenty of possession but failed to press home their advantage by making Julio Cesar work in the Inter goal. That nearly cost them when — after an evening when the defense was often impeccable — an Esteban Cambiasso corner was allowed to fall among a ruck of players in the 75th minute.
Giampaolo Pazzini's shot was blocked but Milito toe-poked the rebound past the stranded Mandanda, and suddenly Inter was ahead on the night, level on aggregate. That kicked off a game: for the final 15 minutes Inter dominated but could not beat Mandanda.
What came next was an almost comic piece of defending that allowed the Brazilian substitute, Brandao, to beat Julio Cesar two minutes into stoppage time. The goal came after Mandanda's long, straight-forward free kick fell behind the experienced Lucio and Walter Samuel. Brandao accepted the gift, turned and shot past the keeper who seemed bemused by it all.
There was one final twist, as Mandanda fouled Giampaolo Pazzini on what turned out to be the final play of the match. It was a second yellow card for Mandanda — who will miss the first leg of the quarterfinal as a result — but Pazzini's conversion from the spot meant nothing more than a win on the night for the disappointing home team.
Marseille boss Didier Deschamps celebrated a success that owed much to his team's willingness to take the match to Inter, even if they did not really create that many chances.
For Ranieri, it is another black eye. He was brought to Inter in hopes of replicating the work of a man he has long jousted with – Jose Mourinho. Despite facing far easier opponents, Ranieri has failed at nearly every hurdle. It’s difficult to see how this season can be salvaged. It’s harder yet to fathom the kind of rebuilding job that seems so urgently needed.
