Similar to the way they defeated Manchester United at St-Jakob’s Park in the group stages, FC Basel defended well, kept their shape and hit on the counter to defeat Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. The Swiss champions are taking a 1-0 lead to the Allianz Arena, thanks to a late winner by substitute Valentin Stocker.
FC Basel Vs. Bayern Munich, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Home Side Find Winner
The first half was a wild one, and both teams should have scored multiple goals. Incredibly, they went into the break tied 0-0, thanks to some great goalkeeping and some bad luck for the attacking players on both sides. Aleksandar Dragovic had a16th minute header cleared off the line by Holger Badstuber, while Marco Streller struck the crossbar in the 29th minute. Franck Ribery had multiple chances for Bayern, but Yann Sommer came up big in the first half with multiple saves on the Frenchman.
Perhaps both managers adjusted their tactics in the locker room, because the second half was considerably more open. Things probably changed for the worse for Bayern in the 71st minute, when Thomas Müller came on for Ribery. He looked like he was limping as he came off, and an injury would be the only explanation for Ribery’s substitution. He was the best player on the pitch by some distance.
Basel's winner came on a counter attack in the 86th minute, with two substitutes combining. Jacques Zoua, who entered for a tired Xherdan Shaqiri just three minutes earlier, set up the goal with a great run and through ball into the box. Rafinha completely lost track of Stocker, who took a touch before putting a left-footed finish between the legs of Manuel Neuer.
Bayern will be favored to win at home, but no matter the score, they will have to do it by multiple goals to avoid extra time. Because Bayern did not score an own goal, Basel will go through with any one-goal loss in which they score.
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