Champions League Review

Inter Milan 3-2 Bayern Munich (Inter win 3-3 on aggregate)

HIGHLIGHTS

3'- Eto'o
21'- Gomez
31'- Muller
63'- Sneijder
88'- Pandev

Bayern Munich were left to rue a host of miss chances, and ended up crashing out of the Champions League thanks to a pair of goals from Inter in the final 27 minutes.

Goran Pandev found Samuel Eto'o behind the defense just two minutes in, and the Cameroonian slotted home with his left foot to deadlock the tie.

Inter were off on the front foot, but the rest of the half would belong to the hosts. They equalized in the 10th when Julio Cesar made a massive mistake to yield a goal, fumbling in front of goal, and Mario Gomez did well to finish on the rebound.

Bayern kept up the pressure, and Thomas Muller appeared to have iced the tie when he pounced on a deflected pass and dinked over the charging Cesar.

Bayern had the upper hand. And the tie should have been done and dusted at halftime, but Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben both missed from close range.

The second half was more of the same with the Bundesliga side looking the more lively. But they lacked the quality in front of goal as Gomez had an effort saved, and a host of bad touches inside the 18 ruined a multitude of promising attacks.

Inter could count themselves lucky to still be in the tie midway through the second half. But they recognized that the opportunity to pull their way back was still there, and Wesley Sneijder got the hosts sweating when he blasted low and to the left corner from distance in the 63rd.

Interestingly, Bayern continued to attack. But again they lacked quality in front of goal. That was not the case for Inter, who stamped their ticket to the quarterfinals with a fine goal in the 88th. Eto'o outmuscled Breno to get the ball in the box, then held up possession brilliantly before playing into the path of the onrushing Pandev, who finished well into the upper corner.

Thoughts

It's been a tough season for Bayern. Their European Dreams were shattered on Tuesday, and they're already out of it domestically, where Borussia Dortmund are running away with the title.

However, they performed well in the group phase of the CL, and they certainly created more over the two legs than Inter. Yes, they were fortunate to score their first goal after the dreadful error from Cesar. But they dominated the match for long periods, and could have easily made it three or four before Inter's comeback.

In the end, Louis Van Gaal's side only have themselves to blame. Ribery's chance in the first half should be in the back of the net for a player of his quality; Ditto for Robben who missed from close range late in the opening 45 minutes.

The second half was also a source of frustration for Munich. The Inter defense looked helpless up against the midfield of Bastian Schweinsteiger, Muller, Ribery, and Robben, who were linking up magnificently and creating space for themselves and others. But time and time again, they weren't clinical in front of goal. They paid for that dearly.

Meanwhile, Inter helped avoid complete humiliation for Serie A, as Roma and AC Milan were both dominated by their opponents and knocked out in the Round of 16.

I know it's cliché to say this, but Inter did indeed show the heart of champions on Tuesday. Most sides would be demoralized after being dominated and down two goals with thirty minutes to go. But Inter kept the pressure on, knowing that they were still in with a shout as long as Bayern continued to botch their chances.

On a team lacking a ton of difference makers, Eto'o showed his brilliance for Leonardo's bunch. The first goal was a typical finish from him, as he cooly slotted between the keepers' legs. But it was his hard work that created the winner for Pandev, as he used his strength, skill, and composure to buy time in the box, and then showed great intelligence by playing Pandev rather than having a go himself. It was a goal worthy of winning the tie.

I still say Inter's days in this competition are numbered. They are a talented side, but they lack true creative attacking forces aside from Sneidjer and Eto'o (Diego Milito's injury doesn't help matters). For me, former gaffer Jose Mourinho's presence helped mask some of those weaknesses last season, as his teams are typically set up correctly to grind out an ugly result. Without him, that hasn't been the case, as the Nerazzuri have given up too many goals and only have a few guys that can create offense for themselves. Even in this matchup, it was the combination of Sneidjer and Eto'o creating most all of the offense, while Bayern's attack could play through a host of playmakers such as Ribery, Robben, Muller, Schweinsteiger or Gomes.

Despite their weaknesses, Inter received a much more favorable draw for the quarters, as they will face an enigmatic Schalke side that have played well in the Champions League, but have been awful in Die Bundesliga and recently fired manager Felix Magath.

Perhaps Inter Milan aren't the best side left in the competition, but it's hard to count them out after yesterday's comeback.

Real Madrid 3-0 Lyon (Real win 4-1 on aggregate

HIGHLIGHTS

37'- Marcelo
66'- Benzema
76'- Di Maria

It was a walk in the park of sorts for Los Galacticos, who exercised more than a few demons by beating a Lyon side that upset them in the Round of 16 last season.

Left back Marcelo turned in a man of the match performance, opening up the Lyon back line on multiple occasions. The first goal represented one of those times, as the Brazilian ran onto a beautiful ball from Ronaldo before sweeping past two defenders and beating Hugo Lloris.

Marcelo continued to be involved as Real took control of the match. He made a great run down the wing and found Karim Benzema all alone in the middle, but this time Lloris was up to the task with a fantastic save.

A headed goal from Benzema was correctly called back for offsides just before halftime. But the striker still managed to open his account in the 66th, sneaking in behind the Lyon defense and slotting between the legs of the charging Lloris.

The hosts clinched it just ten minutes later. With the Ligue 1 side throwing everything forward, Madrid began to unlock them on the counterattack. That would pay dividends in the 76th, as a fine flick from Benzema found Di Maria all alone, and he calmly scooped into the right corner to make it 4-1 on aggregate.

Thoughts

Jose Mourinho's side have received some criticism for their domestic performance. But one must remember that they still have 70 points from 28 matches and are chasing perhaps the best team on the planet for first place. They haven't been world-beaters this year (not yet, at least), but they have been a very good side.

I still say Mourinho's managing is at it's best in the knockout phase of the Champions League, where he has two matches to exert his tactical genius.

This tie was vintage Mourinho. Real were patient in France, making sure not to make any mistakes, and went home with a decent 1-1 result in a match that they dominated. Then, they came home looking to pounce, and they did so early and often. The talent gap between the two teams isn't too much wider than it was last season. But this year Real were more disciplined defensively, and more clinical going forward.

This was a tough draw for Lyon. But they dug their own grave by not winning a group in which they were favored.

Losing Michel Bastos for this leg didn't help, as they didn't have that extra burst of pace and creativity from the left wing. But based on their performance, it's hard to say he would have made a difference.

Les Gones were cool and collected in last season's shocker at the Bernabeu, but that was certainly not the case on Wednesday.

Also...

Tottenham 0-0 AC Milan (Tottenham through 1-0 on aggregate)
Chelsea 0-0 FC Copenhagen (Chelsea through 2-0 on aggregate)