Patient Bayern See Off Ten-Man Gunners

Bayern survived a torrid opening to Wednesday’s eventful Champions League Round of 16 first leg clash away to North London giants Arsenal, including an  action-packed first half with two missed penalties and a sending-off, before dominating the second period and scoring two crucial away goals. The Gunners provided a different calibre of opposition to FCB’s recent domestic rivals, but the treble winners still had the quality to equal the current Champions League record of seven straight away wins in Europe’s elite club competition set by Ajax Amsterdam from 1995 to 1997.

The 60,000 full house at the Emirates Stadium saw the Bundesliga leaders penned back at the start of the incident-filled first half, but Manuel Neuer saved Mesut Özil’s weak early penalty. Munich slowly but surely seized the upper hand and Arsenal were reduced to ten men when keeper Wojciech Szczesny was red carded for a foul on Arjen Robben in the box, but the game remained goalless at the break due to David Alaba missing the ensuing spot-kick. Pep Guardiola’s team upped the ante after the restart and took a 54th-minute lead through Toni Kroos, but despite the visitors’ utter control of proceedings, it took until the 88th minute before sub Thomas Müller headed the second.

The result puts Bayern firmly in the driving seat for the return at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday 11 March, where the Reds could even afford a narrow defeat and still make the quarter-finals. The Bavarians now return to the bread and butter of the Bundesliga on Sunday away to Hannover.

Bayern's Knockout Meetings with Arsenal

Champions League knockout ties between Bayern and Arsenal are always closely-fought encounters. That was certainly the case last season in the Round of 16 when FCB entertained the Londoners in Munich after a convincing win in the first leg. And Bayern had to weather some hairy moments in the 2004/05 campaign in the closing minutes of the clash at Highbury, the Gunners' former home ground. However, the Reds came out on top in the end in those matches. fcbayern.de looks back at the previous two knockout round ties against Arsenal.

2012/13: Last sixteen, first leg (3-1)
Bayern enjoyed a very successful trip to London on 19 February 2013 - exactly one year ahead of this week's meeting with Arsenal. Jupp Heynckes' team produced an outstanding performance to secure a 3-1 victory with goals from Toni Kroos, Thomas Müller and Mario Mandzukic. Lukas Podolski replied for the Gunners.

2012/13: Last sixteen, second leg (0-2)
With Bastian Schweinsteiger suspended and Franck Ribéry injured, Bayern found it hard going at the Allianz Arena. Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud opened the scoring after just three minutes. Bayern dominated the game after that but were unable to convert their superiority into goals on that March evening. The match took a turn for the worse for Bayern when Laurent Koscielny doubled the lead in the closing stages. Another goal for Arsenal would have ended FCB's European campaign, but fortunately it never came. The season ended with the Reds' unforgettable Champions League triumph.

2004/05: Last sixteen, first leg (3-1)
Memories of the games in the 2004/05 campaign are perhaps not quite as fresh. There was another close call back then: Bayern were playing at the Olympic Stadium in the last season before the move to the Allianz Arena and, with Felix Magath at the helm, FCB were outstanding. Claudio Pizarro scored twice and Brazzo Salihamidzic made it 3-0 in the second half before a consolation goal from Kolo Touré gave Arsenal hope of progressing to the quarter-finals.

2004/05: Last sixteen, second leg (0-1)
The return game against Arsenal ended in defeat, but Bayern made it through to the next round once again. The Gunners threw the kitchen sink at FCB after their star striker Thierry Henry gave them a 1-0 lead at Highbury. Bayern stood firm and deservedly earned a passage through to the next round. The Arsenal line-up included stars like Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Mathieu Flamini who is in the current Arsenal squad. Michael Ballack, Sebastian Deisler and Bixente Lizarazu were in the FCB starting eleven in London.

Guardiola also has positive Arsenal record
When he was coach at Barcelona, Pep Guardiola also beat Arsenal twice over two legs, although Barça found it just as tough in London before performing well at home. A 2-1 defeat at the Emirates Stadium in the Round of 16 in 2010/11 was followed by a 3-1 home win. A year earlier, Barcelona drew 2-2 in London and then secured a slot in the semi-finals with a 4-1 victory.

Win Number 200 for Pizzaro

Claudio Pizarro has passed yet another milestone in his illustrious career. Saturday’s 4-0 victory over Freiburg was the FCB striker’s 200th win in the Bundesliga, more than any other currently active player! The Peruvian now has 361 appearances to his name, the most by any non-German player in Bundesliga history, and is in any case the leading non-German goalscorer in the German top flight. Pizza took his total up to 169 with his 88th-minute strike against Freiburg.

FCB wary of complacency

Pep Guardiola was more than usually keen to get his point across: the Spanish head coach is concerned by FCB’s position as clear favourites in the DFB Cup quarter-final tie against strugglers Hamburg SV on Wednesday 

“Look out, lads, look out,” declared Guardiola at the pre-match press conference, “anything can happen in a single game. Both teams start at 0-0.”

While Hamburg are on a run of six Bundesliga defeats on the trot and are currently next to bottom in the league table, Bayern are smashing one record after another. However, a casual approach on Wednesday night could put FCB on a sticky wicket. Guardiola wants to avoid that at all costs. “We can’t afford to think about Freiburg or Arsenal. Hamburg is the most important game of all. We can’t win any titles tomorrow but we can lose one,” explained the coach.

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge also made his views clear, demanding that no-one at the club be “lulled into a false sense of security. Most of the recent games at Hamburg have been very tight.” Everybody at Bayern knows making the cup semi-finals is not “a walk in the park. We’re the holders. But our players know we can’t take anything for granted at Hamburg.”

Bastian Schweinsteiger Back in Full Training

The joy on Bastian Schweinsteiger’s face was clear for all to see. When he stepped onto the pitch, when he worked with his team-mates and at the end of the session. The Bayern midfielder had an unmistakable smile when he returned to full training on Wednesday afternoon.

The last time the FCB vice-captain worked out with the first team squad was at the training camp in Qatar four weeks ago. He was then sidelined again with a knee injury. But now Bastian is back and he was in the thick of it on the training ground to the evident pleasure of the 400 fans looking on at the Säbener Strasse facility.

Schweinsteiger completed the whole session including the initial tactical drills, carried out behind closed doors, then the football fitness course ending with a shot at goal and the final three-against-three tournament. He not only scored the winner twice but he also celebrated with his team-mates as he won the tournament.

Bayern Aim to Keep Calm and Carry On

The atmosphere was electric before kick-off as the players came on to the hallowed turf at the Allianz Arena for the first time in 2014, accompanied by the South Stand commemorating former president Kurt Landauer with a gigantic choreographed display. After the referee got the game against Eintracht Frankfurt underway at 5.30 pm CET, the Bayern eleven set about doing justice to the stunning setting, successfully keeping the fans on the edge of their seats for the following 90 minutes. Each goal was better than the previous one and there were some delightful moves. The visitors from Hessen were almost spectators in Bayern’s impressive 5-0 win.

“We wanted to sit back and close down the spaces. But that’s easier said than done,” admitted Armin Veh at the post-match media conference. The Frankfurt coach was bowled over by the FCB performance: “I’ve never seen such a strong Bayern side before. A great display and high tempo.” The quality of the Bayern performance was evident with summer signing Thiago smashing the Bundesliga record for the number of touches in a game (185) and just missing out on the European record set by Sergio Busquets (190).

“He’s a fantastic player. He was all over the park. That was world-class,” declared Matthias Sammer. Guardiola added: “It’s a big record for him.” Bayern’s playmaker was typically modest in his response. The Spaniard described his performance as “not so important. The important thing was how we played. That was great and we’re happy about it.”