Are ailing Bavarians slipping further into the crisis or are they shooting the frustration out of their souls? This question arose on Wednesday at Bayern Munich ahead of the Champions League Round of 16 against RB Salzburg after surprisingly going down 4-2 at the weekend at newly promoted Bochum. So far, the Austrians have impressed with offensive fun football – and young top talents like the Swiss goalie Philipp Köhn or Nati shooting star Noah Okafor. For the latter, the game started with a shock. After eleven minutes Okfaor grabbed his thigh with a pained face and had to be substituted. For him the ex-St. Gallen Adamu. And he scored about ten minutes later with a nice flick to make it 1-0.
As at the weekend, the Munich defense did not look good. Blue expert Marcel Reif said about France’s world champion Benjamin Pavard during the break: “He falls asleep standing up.” Bayern then put pressure on and grew stronger as the game progressed. But the big chances didn’t materialize – and when they did, the 23-year-old Köhn kept Salzburg’s box clean. Until the 90th minute. Bayern’s best man Kingsley Coman was spot on after Thomas Müller extended his header and equalized to make it 1-1.
Inter Mailand – FC Liverpool 0:2
In the second round of 16 on Wednesday evening, Inter Milan and Liverpool fought a hard-fought exchange of blows with chances for both sides. Just as Inter Milan were getting closer to the lead, Roberto Firmino headed the ball in for the Reds in the 75th minute to make it 1-0. Frustrating for the Italian champions: it was the only shot on the English side’s goal to date. Even worse: The second shot landed in the net in the 82nd minute. Salah scored with a ball goal to make it 2-0. (wed)
