Kroos dan Muller Ancam Arsenal Terdepak dari Liga Champions
Kroos and Muller Leave 10-men Gunners Staring at Champions League Exit
Editor : Ismail Gani
Translator : Novita Cahyadi
London (B2B) - Gol Toni Kroos pada babak kedua dan dari Muller di menit-menit akhir telah mengantar Bayern Munchen menang 2-0 atas tuan rumah Arsenal dalam pertandingan leg pertama 16 besar Liga Champions di Stadion Emirates, Rabu (Kamis pagi WIB).
Perjuangan Munchen menghadapi perlawanan keras Arsenal akhirnya berbuah kemenangan berkat gol Kroos pada menit 54 dan oleh Muller pada menit 88, setelah dua hadiah penalti pada babak pertama gagal diselesaikan menjadi gol oleh kedua tim, seperti dilansir Yahoo Sports.
Tuan rumah Arsenal langsung menyerang setelah kick off, mendapatkan peluang emas ketika Ozil dijatuhkan Boateng di kotak penalti. Tapi sayang Ozil yang menjadi eksekutor gagal menjebol gawang Munchen dan bola tendangannya ditepis kiper Manuel Neuer.
Bayer kemudian membalas mengancam melalui Alaba, Flamini yang siaga di barisan belakang Arsenal berhasil memblok bola berbahaya Alaba. Upaya Flamini berikutnya pun masih juga gagal.
Aksi saling balas serangan pun terus berlangsung, akan tetapi semua kandas di dalam penyelesaian akhir.
Pada menit 31, Wenger memasukkan Monreal dan menarik keluar Gibbs untuk memperkuat lini tengah menghadang serangan Munchen.
Pertandingan yang kian keras pun kemudian berujung diusirnya kiper Arsenal Szczesny setelah ia menghadang Robben yang menyambut umpan matang Toni Kroos.
Wenger pun kemudian memasukkan Fabiarski untuk menjaga gawang Arsenal dan menarik keluar Santi Cazorla.
Buah pelanggaran Szczesny terhadap Robben berbuah tendangan penalti untuk Munchen. Kesempatan emas untuk mengubah papan skor, namun sayang Alaba yang sudah berhasil mengecoh Fabiarski, bola tendangannya masih membentur mistar gawang.
Dua tendangan penalti dalam babak pertama telah sia-sia, Arsenal dan Munchen mengakhiri babak pertama dengan skor tetap 0-0.
Meski bermain dengan hanya 10 pemain, Arsenal masih bisa mengimbangi permainan Munchen melalui serangan-serangannya.
Namun, pada menit 54 keadaan berubah. Umpan Lahm buah kerja sama bagus dengan Robben dapat diselesaikan dengan baik oleh Kroos. Munchen unggul 1-0.
Muller yang masuk menggantikan Mandzukic menit 64, mampu memperbesar kemanganan Munchen lewat golnya pada menit 88, dan lagi-lagi berkat umpan Lahm.
Hingga pertandingan leg pertama berakhir, tim tamu Bayern Munchen mengantongi kemenangan 2-0 untuk dibawa pulang dan menjadi torehan yang harus dipertahankan pada leg kedua mendatang.
London - Second-half goals from Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller gave holder Bayern Munich a 2-0 victory over 10-man Arsenal and a firm grip of their last 16 Champions League tie on Wednesday.
Kroos scored in the 54th minute with a stunning strike, curling the ball past Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who came on after Wojciech Szczesny was sent off for fouling Arjen Robben.
An unmarked Mueller scored with a powerful header from close range in the 88th.
Both teams missed penalties in the first half, with Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil shooting straight at Manuel Neuer, and Bayern midfielder David Alaba clipping a post. Szczesny was sent off in the 37th minute for following through on Robben.
At Emirates Stadium, the match was breathless until the sending off, with both sides attacking and trying to gain an advantage. Kroos nearly opened the scoring for Bayern in the third minute when he forced Szczesny to make a flying save with his fingertips.
Arsenal wasn’t unnerved and starting to dictate play with chances for surprise starter Yaya Sanogo and Santi Cazorla. Bayern’s defense started to panic and Ozil won a penalty in the eighth minute when center back Jerome Boateng clattered into him as the German swiveled past.
However, the playmaker failed to convert the spot-kick and Neuer palmed the ball to safety. It was Ozil’s second penalty miss in the Champions League this season, after misfiring against Marseille in the group stage.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain created problems down the right for Bayern, but the five-time European champion settled down and started to stretch Arsenal’s defense as the first half wore on.
Robben won a penalty in the 37th, when he jumped to control a ball, which bounced off his knee and appeared to be going out of play. But Szczesny was sent off when he clattered Robben’s shin on the follow-through.
Fabianski came on and Alaba’s spot kick clipped the outside of the left post. Bayern dominated the second half and despite resolute defending from Arsenal, the home side finally caved in.
The first goal came out of nowhere with a simple exchange of passes on the right, but Kroos was given too much space and he unleashed a shot from about 20 yards (meters). A tired Arsenal back line switched off late in the second half, with Philip Lahm finding Mueller whose header bounced into the ground past Fabianski.
Kroos nearly made it 3-0 with a low shot that struck a post in stoppage time.
Bayern won the treble last year under Jupp Heynckes, and his successor, Guardiola is on course to replicate the team’s domination of European football.
The Germans are unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, winning 19 of 21 league matches, and are 16 points clear at the top. Guardiola was without injured attacking midfielders Franck Ribery and Xherdan Shaqiri.
