Bayern break Juve hearts in roller-coaster drama
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
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Bayern 4-2 Juventus (aet; agg: 6-4)
After Thomas Müller forced extra time, substitutes Thiago Alcántara and Kingsley Coman capped a remarkable Bayern comeback in the round of 16.
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- Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado initially silence Fußball Arena München
- Magnificent first-half display puts Juve on brink of 4-2 aggregate victory
- Juve actually trailed 2-0 in Turin first leg before rescuing draw
- Robert Lewandowski heralds fightback, Thomas Müller completes it
- Thiago Alcántara and Kingsley Coman then score two in three extra-time minutes
- Quarter-final draw streamed live on UEFA.com from 12.00CET on Friday
Two goals in three extra-time minutes from substitutes Thiago Alcántara and Kingsley Coman decided a roller-coaster UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie in Bayern München's favour, as an initially excellent Juventus display foundered amid a dramatic finale to an already see-saw encounter.
In a direct reversal of the Turin first leg, and at a ground where Bayern had won their preceding nine UEFA Champions League home matches, Juve led 2-0 through Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado's first-half goals only to be pegged back just short of the final whistle. For all Bayern's possession football, the hosts were revived by headers from crosses – Robert Lewandowski's 73rd-minute conversion of a Douglas Costa centre, followed by Thomas Müller nodding in Coman's wicked 91st-minute delivery.
That paved the way for Thiago, who finished off a one-two with Müller by rifling past Gianluigi Buffon with 108 minutes on the clock. Some 120 seconds later teenager Coman – ironically, a player on loan from Juventus – broke to fire in the irreversible fourth.
That turnaround made a distant memory of the brilliant start from Massimiliano Allegri's men. Pogba's fifth-minute breakthrough stemmed from Sami Khedira's positive forward pass which, via a miscontrol from David Alaba under pressure from Stephan Lichtsteiner – and with Manuel Neuer stranded – the Frenchman finished comfortably.
With Juve pressing high, Bayern were rattled and it was no surprise when Juve struck again on 28 minutes. Álvaro Morata's brilliant upfield surge was rewarded with a classy finish by Cuadrado. The Bundesliga leaders were being outgunned by opponents missing Paulo Dybala and Giorgio Chiellini; Cuadrado could have made it three.
Josep Guardiola's men had scored at least three goals in each of their last seven home fixtures in the competition. Similar was needed here and Lewandowski eventually weighed in with one. Müller then levelled the tie, before the substitutes finished the job in extra time.
Analysis from Jordan Maciel in Munich
Bayern bounce back with superb second half
If the Bavarians were in a state of shock at 0-2 down, they would have been dead and buried had Morata finished one of his three second-half chances. But the Coman substitution gave the Bundesliga leaders a new lease of life and once Lewandowksi made it 2-1, it was inevitable they would get another.
Brave Juventus unable to hold on
Knowing they required an away goal, Juventus took the game to Bayern and were rewarded immediately. They unsettled the hosts with a magnificent first-half showing and will rue not converting their opportunities for a third, but in the end they were unable to resist the Bayern goal machine.
Key man: Kingsley Coman
His 60th-minute introduction proved the catalyst for Bayern's comeback, injecting pace and energy into the home attack. The 19-year-old winger wreaked havoc with his crossing and supplied the crucial assist for Müller's equaliser before putting the match out of sight with Bayern's fourth.