Late Gomez strike sinks Inter
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Mario Gomez's last-minute goal earned Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at defending champion Inter Milan and three-time champion Manchester United was held 0-0 at Marseille in first-leg matches in the last 16 of the Champions League yesterday.
Gomez hooked the loose ball into an empty net after goalkeeper Julio Cesar had failed to hold winger Arjen Robben's shot, giving the German side a measure of revenge for its 2-0 loss to Inter in the 2010 final in Madrid.
"I am very happy with our performance," Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. "Inter played very well. It could have been a different result, but we deserved to win after the way we played in the second half."
In a game of few chances at the Stade Velodrome, Marseille's Steve Mandanda was the busier of the two goalkeepers, keeping out shots by United midfielders Darren Fletcher and Nani.
"It was very important not to concede in the first game and we did it," Marseille coach Didier Deschamps said.
The second legs are played on March 15, with Bayern and United now favorites to go through to the quarterfinals.
Inter, which is third in Serie A but has been showing improved form under new coach Leonardo, will count itself unlucky to be going into the second leg behind.
"There is some bitterness that we conceded the goal at the point of the game when we did," Leonardo said.
Bayern goalkeeper Thomas Kraft defied the hosts on a number of occasions, while Inter was denied what looked like a clear penalty when the lively Samuel Eto'o appeared to be brought down by Anatoliy Tymoshchuk in the box early on.
Later in the first half, Esteban Cambiasso's shot from close range was blocked by Kraft, who then came to Bayern's rescue to push away a shot by Eto'o.
Franck Ribery headed an effort onto the bar at the other end and fellow winger Robben picked out Thomas Mueller in the box shortly after halftime, but the Germany midfielder glanced a header wide.
Eto'o and Cambiasso then wasted decent chances one after the other before Gomez's dramatic winner, allowing the Germany international to join Eto'o and Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka as the leading scorers in the Champions League this season with seven each.
"I don't think we need to make major changes before we go to Munich," Leonardo said.
Man United manager Alex Ferguson rued his side's inability to score an away goal in France, even though Marseille struggled to create many chances of its own at home against the Premier League leaders.
"A goal away from home is always important - we didn't do that, that's a disappointment for me," Ferguson said. "At this stage of the competition, away goals count. But you have to say that Manchester United at home, we have a good chance."
Mandanda had to react late to keep out Fletcher's low shot in the first real chance of the match, before England striker Wayne Rooney - who played in a withdrawn role on the left side of the visitors' attack - was denied by a last-gasp tackle from Marseille center half Souleymane Diawara.
Brandao, Marseille's lone striker, had a weak header saved at the start of the second half and then just failed to get a touch on Andre Ayew's drive across the face of goal.
United's last opportunity fell to Nani, but Mandanda rushed off his line with five minutes left to dive quickly at the Portugal winger's feet.
"I'm proud of what my players did tonight because they rose to the challenge," Deschamps said. "It will be a different story in three weeks at Old Trafford, but we will have to go there without fear."
