| Champions League: Inter Milan finish second in group (English/Italian) |
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| Wednesday, 06 December 2006 | |
 Bayern Munich secured top spot in Champions League Group B despite conceding a last-gasp equaliser to Inter Milan in a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Both teams were already assured of qualification going into the final match and Inter, needing a win to leapfrog the Germans, seemed satisfied with runners-up spot. The Italians, minus a bunch of first team regulars, grabbed a point when Patrick Vieira blasted the ball into the roof of the net with seconds remaining. Bayern finished top of the group with 12 points while Inter were second with 10. Inter coach Roberto Mancini surprisingly chose to leave a clutch of first-team regulars on the bench, including goalkeeper Julio Cesar and midfielder Dejan Stankovic. They were still good enough to keep Bayern at arm's length for most of the first half, although Makaay did get one clear sight on goal in the 40th minute, flashing a shot just wide form Claudio Pizarro's pass. Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, making his 100th Champions League appearance, was left rooted to the spot when Mariano Gonzalez struck the bar with a stinging drive from over 25 metres just before the end of the first half. At the age of 37, Kahn is still in excellent shape and brought cheers from a 66,000 full house when he tipped over a Walter Samuel header from Luis Figo's 50th minute free kick. That was the signal for a livelier second half. Mark van Bommel was a fraction wide with a 25-metre strike after almost an hour as Bayern pressed before making the breakthrough just past the hour. Hasan Salihamidzic, seeing a rare chance for a Bayern break, smacked the ball into the path of Makaay, who showed excellent control to hold off Marco Andreolli before beating Toldo to his right. The goal brought a burst of effort from Inter but they rarely got close to the Bayern penalty area. The home side, threatening on the break as time ran out, almost added a second from Pizarro's long-range shot in the 87th minute. Inter then finally found a way past Kahn in added time. The keeper pushed away a shot from substitute Fabio Grosso on the right but Vieira was unmarked to smash in the equaliser. "It was an even game between two sides who wanted to win," said Mancini. "I'm delighted that the players who don't often feature did well tonight. chinadaily In Italian : A Mancini basta il secondoDopo un 1° tempo alla camomilla, Bayern e Inter provano a vincere. In gol prima i padroni di casa, poi il pari di Vieira nel finale grazie a un'invenzione di Recoba: tedeschi primi, nerazzurri dietro. Mancini l'aveva detto, alla vigilia: primi o secondi, che differenza fa? In entrambi i casi si rischia di affrontare squadre forti agli ottavi. E per metà gara a dargli ragione non è solo la sua squadra, ma anche il Bayern. Poi, quando l'Inter decide di provarci, i tedeschi nuovamente si adeguano, a finiscono per spuntarla loro, costringendo i nerazzurri a agguantare il pari nel finale. BAYERN MONACO-INTER 1-1 (primo tempo 0-0) MARCATORI: Makaay (B) al 17', Vieira (I) al 46' s.t. BAYERN MONACO (4-4-2): Kahn; Sagnol, Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm; Salihamidzic (Deisler dal 33' s.t.), Van Bommel (Demichelis dal 27' s.t. ), Ottl, Sweinsteiger; Pizarro, Makaay (Santa Cruz dal 38' s.t.). (Rensing, Karimi, Dos Santos, Lell). All.: Magath. INTER (4-3-2-1): Toldo; Maicon, Andreolli, Samuel, Maxwell; J.Zanetti, Vieira, Solari (Grosso dal 39' s.t.); Figo (Recoba dal 25' s.t.), M. Gonzalez; Ibrahimovic (Crespo dal 1' s.t.). (Julio Cesar, Materazzi, Burdisso, Cambiasso). All.: Mancini. Gazzetta |
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