© EuroFootball.com
Arsene Wenger's disciples managed to defeat the "Bayern" footballers from Munich for the first time this year, but this did not save the London "Arsenal" club from withdrawing from the tournament.
In the return leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match, the final whistle declared an English team victory of 2-0, bringing joy to the Germans - with a total score of 3-3 after two matches, the "Bavarians" advanced to the next stage due to away goals.
On Wednesday evening, the spectators gathered at the "Allianz Arena" were shocked already in the third minute, when Olivier Giroud "closed" the goal after a sharp pass from Theo Walcott.
After recovering, the hosts took control of the match, but they were not in a hurry to finish off the "gunners" - they struggled with slow positional attacks, and whenever they found themselves in the attack zone, they usually shot off target.
In the 69th minute, Arjen Robben jumped in front of the goalkeeper, but Lukasz Fabianski repelled the self-righteous attempt of the Dutch national team player.
With 5 minutes left in regulation time, the hopes of "Arsenal" were revived - after a corner, Laurent Koscielny left no chance for Manuel Neuer with a header. 2-0!
Interestingly, this was only the second and last visitor's attempt on the "Bayern" goal. During the remaining time, Jupp Heynckes' army dissolved the running seconds without any signs of panic.
In the other match, "Malaga" in front of their home crowd managed to equalize the minimal one-goal deficit brought from Portugal and defeated "Porto" by a score of 2-0.
It is worth mentioning the young diamond Isco - the Spanish club's attacking midfielder once again shone impressively by conquering the opponent's goalkeeper.
The draw for the prestigious Old Continent's football tournament quarter-finals will take place in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday at 13:00 Lithuanian time.
Results:
(highlighted team advanced to the next stage)
"Bayern" Munich 0 - 2 London "Arsenal"
(first leg 3 - 1, total score 3 - 3)
3' [0 - 1] O. Giroud
85' [0 - 2] L. Koscielny
"Malaga" 2 - 0 "Porto"
(first leg 0 - 1, total score 2 - 1)
43' [1 - 0] Isco
77' [2 - 0] R.S. Cruz
49' S. Defour removed from the field ("Porto")
