Allen Hamilton

What: Champions League Round of 16
Who: Bayern Munich (1) vs Inter Milan (0) (First leg scores in brackets)
When: Tuesday 15th March, 2011, at 19:45 UK Time
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany

Bowing Out with a Bang

Between the first and secong leg of this tie came the news that Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal would not continue into next season. The Dutchman, despite having a contract running until the end of 2012, agreed with the club’s board to terminate that deal a year early, following a less than perfect campaign. Pressure had been growing on Van Gaal following Bayern’s ever-growing gap behind league leaders Borussia Dortmund and German Cup exit to Schalke, with little regard for the season produced by the former Barcelona manager last year.

The Champions League though offers Van Gaal an opportunity to bow out not just on a high, but also to cement his spot as one of Europe’s top coaches, with the result that a raft of clubs beat a path to his door in June. Van Gaal’s side not only hold a crucial 1-0 advantage over Champions League holders Inter, they also come into the game in good form, having simply destroyed Hamburg 6-0 at the weekend to bounce back from a run of three consecutive defeats, to Borussia Dortmund, Schalke and Hannover.

And Van Gaal was delighted with the reaction, sure that it will act as the perfect preparation for the Champions League duel with Inter. "I think that [crowd support] is exceptional, I’m delighted we put on a show today", said the Dutchman. "That showed how well we’re capable of playing and it was a very good way to prepare for Inter."

Righting First Leg Wrongs

Inter felt hard done to in the first leg, losing a late goal to Bayern which means they head into the Allianz Arena trailing the Germans. In truth however, it may change little for Leonardo’s men, as even at 0-0 the Italians would have to breach the Bundesliga club’s backline to proceed further in the Champions League.

Domestically Inter remain in the Serie A hunt and received a lifeline at the weekend as AC Milan were unable to capitalise on Inter’s two dropped points away to Brescia on Saturday. Milan’s 1-1 home draw with lowly Bari means the gap remains at just five points and retaining the Scudetto, which looked unlikely when Rafael Benitez was sacked before Christmas, is still possible.

Having lost at home to Bayern, Inter responded by beating Sampdoria (2-0) and then thrashing Genoa (5-2) before the Brescia draw. And with Leonardo pledging to attack, the chances of the holders progressing should not be underestimated.

 

Recent form

Bayern Munich:
Bayern Munich 0-1 Schalke
(02/03; German Cup)
Hannover 3-1 Bayern Munich
(05/03; Bundesliga)
Bayern Munich 6-0 Hamburg 
(12/03; Bundesliga)

Inter:
Sampdoria 0-2 Inter (27/02; Serie A)
Inter 5-2 Genoa (06/03; Serie A)
Brescia 1-1 Inter (11/03; Serie A)

Key absences

Bayern Munich: Ivica Olic

Inter: Diego Milito; Walter Samuel; David Suazo; Esteban Cambiasso (doubt)

Players to watch

Bayern Munich – Arjen Robben: The Dutchman hit a hat-trick against Hamburg and showed that, when it comes to scoring goals, he is every bit the equal of a frontline striker. Tricky and pacey on the wing, Robben has the ability to single-handedly finish off the Italians and, having missed most of the season due to an injury aggravated at the World Cup with Holland, the winger is fresh.

Inter – Samuel Eto’o: Inter’s main goal-getter this season, the Cameroonian has not let his standards slip despite the trauma of losing coach Rafael Benitez, a man Eto’o was known to admire. In red hot form in front of goal, the former Barcelona man dreams of winning back-to-back Champions Leagues. If he can fire at the Allianz Arena then that dream may be a little closer to becoming reality.

Match Prediction

Bayern’s 6-0 drubbing of Hamburg should not disguise the fact that they have been inconsistent this season, and that is the very reason Louis van Gaal has been forced out. However, the Germans need no reminding that knocking Inter out of the Champions League would represent a measure of revenge for defeat in last year’s final, and they do hold the advantage. This is set to be a close game, and looks a likely score draw. 1-1, with Inter scoring first.

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