New Delhi: Bayern Munich can look forward to the quarter-finals of this season’s Champions League after thrashing Sporting Lisbon at the Jose Alvalade on Wednesday night.
Bayern Munich put in a superb performance in Portugal to destroy Sporting Lisbon 5-0. Philipp Lahm cleared an early effort off the line before Franck Ribery fired them into the lead. Second half goals from Klose, Ribery and Luca Toni (2) saw the Bavarians cruise to a massive win.
First Half
The opening ten minutes saw both sides probing each other with Sporting perhaps having the upper hand. Bayern however were very lucky after 12 minutes when Philipp Lahm (their smallest player) headed the ball off the line with Michael Rensing beaten. Defender Anderson Polga was left with a free shot, but thanks to the full-back, Bayern were saved.
Two minutes later and Bayern had their first moment of danger. Miroslav Klose headed the ball onto Frank Ribery and the Frenchman let fly from distance with a volley, only to see his shot fly just wide.
As the game progressed, the German champions were coming more and more into the game and the accuracy of their passing improved. On 24 minutes Luca Toni managed to get his head to a Ribery corner, but was unable to direct it goalwards and Tiago wasn’t troubled.
The next moment of note fell to the home side, but Liedson’s shot from the right was blocked for a corner. The resulting set-piece came to nothing.
On the half hour mark, Bayern captain Mark van Bommel picked up his customary yellow card before five minutes later Sporting’s captain Joao Moutinho fired a shot just wide after being given plenty of space in the penalty area.
Despite not hitting top gear in the first-half, Bayern took the lead on 42 minutes through Frank Ribery. A poorly placed pass from Derlei saw the Frenchman pick up the ball before driving at centre-backs Anderson Polga and Tonel. He burst through their half challenges before slotting the ball clinically past Tiago in the Lisbon goal.
Second Half
Despite a bright start to the second half, Bayern doubled their lead twelve minutes into the second period when Miroslav Klose scored his sixth Champions league goal of the season. A whipped cross from Massimo Oddo saw Luca Toni flick the ball on in the area, and Klose was on hand to thigh the ball over the line, even though he didn’t know a great deal about it.
Sporting trainer Paulo Bento made a double switch in response, but they move didn’t have time to pay dividends before Bayern scored a third.
Philipp Lahm burst into the penalty box and was clumsily chopped down by Fabio Rochemback leaving the referee little option but to point to the spot. Franck Ribery stepped up to stroke the spot-kick into the bottom right corner.
The third goal killed the game for all intents and purposes and Bayern looked to take advantage of the stunned demeanour of the Portuguese. On 68 minutes Klose headed narrowly over following a good cross.
A host of substitutions followed but the game was put well and truly beyond Sporting with six minutes to play. Ribery beat Pereirinha on the flank before putting a cross into the box. Luca Toni rose above his marker to direct the ball across the goal and past keeper Tiago.
The icing was well and truly put on the cake in the 90th minute when Bayern were able to take advantage of highly lax defending to score a fifth. Luca Toni headed goalwards following a Ribery cross, and when Tiago saved the effort, the Bayern striker put away the rebound to compound the misery on the Portuguese side.
Goals:
0-1 Ribery (42)
0-2 Klose (57)
0-3 Ribery (64 pen)
0-4 Toni (84)
0-5 Toni (90)
Sporting: Tiago, Abel (Pereirinha 61), Tonel, Anderson Polga, Caneira, Rochemback, Izmaylov (Vukcevic 61), Joao Moutinho, Romagnoli, Liedson, Derlei (Yannick 71)
Bayern: Rensing, Oddo (Lell 67), Lucio (van Buyten 78), Demichelis, Lahm, van Bommel, Ze Roberto, Schweinsteiger (Altintop 71), Ribery, Klose, Toni.
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