Bayern Munich warms up on March 12, 2013. (CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)
If the results of their first leg against Arsenal on February 19th in London have any predictive power, Bayern Munich will easily advance to the quarterfinals in the Champions League after the second leg on March 13. Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger is confident, though, that his Gunners will put up a fight. On the counter, Bayern Munich stars said they won’t let up until the match concludes.
Bayern Munich took care of business three weeks ago, beating Arsenal on their home field 3-1. Arsenal fell down early 2-0 on a seventh minute goal by Toni Kroos and then 14 minutes later on a Thomas Müller goal. Arsenal seemed to come out of the half determined to make it a game and put up a 55th-minute goal by Lukas Podolski, but Mario Mandzukic of Bayern Munich took away hope with a 77th-minute goal to put the score at 3-1.
Both teams will be without a few key starters this leg. On Arsenal’s side, they will be without goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, resting up for a big Premier League tie this weekend against Swansea City. They will also be without the services of midfielder Jack Wilshere, who will be out for three weeks with an ankle injury, as well as Podolski, who is suffering an ankle injury of his own. The German side will be without one of their best players in Franck Ribéry, also sidelined with an ankle injury. (This has opened up hope to some Arsenal partisans.) Suspensions to Bastian Schweinsteiger and Jerome Boateng will also result in Bayern Munich shuffling their lineup and giving Arsenal an outside opportunity to pull off a dramatic comeback.
Last season Arsenal was devastated by AC Milan 4-0 and retaliated with a 3-0 victory in the second leg to (almost) mount an historic comeback. Arsenal has the right manager for the job of leading this pack of Gunners into Germany today; Wenger believes they have a realistic shot at winning despite the huge goal deficit they face. With the aggregate score sitting at 3-1, Arsenal will need to score at least three goals today — as well as allowing none — to advance.
A tall order. Bayern Munich has only lost twice this season, both defeats falling in October 2012. They’ve won all 10 matches of 2013 by scoring 27 goals and — incredibly — having only given up four. In Bundesliga play, Bayern Munich has netted 67 goals and only allowed 10 in 25 matches. And they seem to be the favorite to win it all in Champions League play this year. But they won’t soon forget how last season ended — a heartbreaking loss to Chelsea in the Champions League final. Müller scored an 84th minute goal to put Bayern Munich up 1-0, and with their side dominating the game for most of the way, it looked settled. But just shy of the game’s final whistle, Chelsea scored a season-saving, 89th-minute equalizer by Didier Drogba — and the overtime produced no goals forcing penalty kicks that landed Chelsea the victory.
That heartbreak will be on the minds of the Bayern Munich side today — and it may well provide a psychological impetus to victory.
