Offside News

Sports

Gomez gets it to go for Bayern

Comment: 0 August 24th, 2011 by: admin

BAYERN Munich’s game plan was to score an early goal and Mario Gomez stepped up to get the job done.

Gomez found the back of the net just in the 7th minute as the German powerhouse pulled off a 1-0 victory at FC Zurich at Letzigrund on Tuesday to advance to the Champions League group stage.

The four-time European champions thus completed a 3-0 aggregate win in the playoff round following a relatively easy assignment against the Swiss.

“For us, it was important to get an early goal because it settled the nerves,’’ said Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes.

Despite missing the services of playmaker Arjen Robben who rode the bench due to a recurring back pains, the Germans still played with fire in their eyes, adding to that their enthusiasm to succeed this year because their home stadium – the Allianz Arena – will host the final next May.

Bayern have played in 13 of the last 14 group stages.

After the Swiss threatened in the 5th minute, the Germans replied in a big way. Thomas Mueller sent a cross to Gomez in the middle and the towering striker flicked the ball low inside Zurich goalkeeper Johnny Leoni’s right hand post.

Heynckes lauded how the play was made, saying the whole buildup was “fantastic and brilliantly made.’’

That also recalled how Bayern used to perform in the old days, according to Heynckes, when they play the ball with elegance from defense.

Zurich, the Swiss Super League runners-up, made another effort to score in the 24th minute but Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer used an unorthodox low punch to cancel a free kick by Ricardo Rodriguez.

In other playoffs skirmishes, Giuseppi Rossi netted two second-half goals to power Villarreal to a 3-0 win for a 3-1 aggregate over Odense, while Dinamo Zagreb and APOEL also made it to the group stage.

Zagreb advanced 4-3 on aggregate against Malmo of Sweden, who were 2-0 winners last Tuesday, while APOEL of Cyprus beat Wisla Krakow of Poland 3-1 for a 3-2 aggregate. It was the 7th time the Polish side failed at the final qualifying hurdle.

More