Anderlecht lift as Bayern advance

RSC Anderlecht bowed out of the UEFA Cup at the hands of FC Bayern Münich on Wednesday but restored some pride by sealing a 2-1 victory in Germany.

Anderlecht spirit
The Bundesliga leaders had virtually sealed their passage to the quarter-finals with a 5-0 first-leg win in Belgium last week, and they quickly extended their advantage when Lucio scored the first goal of the night on nine minutes. Anderlecht continued to fight, however, and managed to seal their first victory in Bavaria at the fifth attempt thanks to goals from Serhat Akin and Oleksandr Yakovenko.

Lucio strike
Bayern started quickly with Lukas Podolski hitting the left upright after just 64 seconds following a swift counterattack, and the pressure told when Lucio gave Bayern a six-goal aggregate advantage with a header from José Ernesto Sosa's free-kick. The hosts spent the next ten minutes showing off their passing skills but were caught out when Yakovenko found Akin and the Turkish forward finished clinically past Michael Rensing on 20 minutes.

Long-range shot
Yakovenko then silenced the home fans by scoring Anderlecht's second in the 35th minute, the 20-year-old Ukrainian pouncing on Philipp Lahm's slip and firing a long-range shot past Rensing, who got a hand to the ball but could not keep it out. Yakovenko and Akin both had chances to double the advantage, as the 1982/83 UEFA Cup winners continued to enjoy the better of proceedings.

Schollen save
Anderlecht switched keepers at the break, with Davy Schollen replacing Daniel Zítka, and the new man was tested early as Bayern substitute Franck Ribéry saw Schollen make a fine stop. Bayern eventually eased off before coming again late on, substitute Jan Schlaudraff shooting wide of Schollen's goal after the visitors had failed to clear their lines. Schollen did a fine job batting away Ribery's cross in the 89th minute and then watched the France playmaker's stoppage-time shot drift wide as Anderlecht registered an impressive, if ultimately academic, triumph.