Superb Bayern sweep Shakhtar aside
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
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FC Bayern München 7-0 FC Shakhtar Donetsk (agg: 7-0)
Thomas Müller scored twice as Bayern brushed past Shakhtar, who played 87 minutes with ten men, to equal this competition's biggest knockout win.
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• Bayern reach eighth quarter-final in nine years at Shakhtar's expense
• Olexandr Kucher earns fastest UEFA Champions League red card for foul on Mario Götze
• Thomas Müller converts resulting penalty; Jérôme Boateng adds second (34)
• Franck Ribéry, Müller, Holger Badstuber, Robert Lewandowski and Götze on target later
• Quarter-final draw in Nyon on 20 March at 12.00CET
FC Bayern München eased into a fourth successive UEFA Champions League quarter-final with a dominant display against FC Shakhtar Donetsk.
Bayern were in charge from the moment Olexandr Kucher was adjudged to have fouled Mario Götze in the third minute, conceding a penalty and collecting the fastest red card in UEFA Champions League history in the process. Thomas Müller converted the spot kick and Jérôme Boateng tapped in a second before the interval; Franck Ribéry, Müller, Holger Badstuber, Robert Lewandowski and Götze himself completed an emphatic win after the break.
The first leg in Ukraine had been a tight, goalless affair but this was anything but. A free-flowing Bayern move ended with Götze closing in on goal; Kucher's sliding challenge abruptly halted his progress. The Shakhtar defender was dismissed and Müller sent Andriy Pyatov the wrong way from the penalty spot.
Arjen Robben then passed up two gilt-edged opportunities, first narrowly failing to apply the finishing touch to Lewandowski's unselfish cross before Götze and Müller's clever corner routine worked space for the Dutchman ten metres out, but the shot was wild.
Robben limped off shortly afterwards but, by the midway point of the opening period, Bayern had enjoyed 67% of the possession. A second goal continued to elude them, although it looked certain to arrive when Rafinha's centre found Lewandowski in space. The Pole's header beat Pyatov only to come back off the upright; moments later the goalkeeper was down smartly to block Ribéry's effort.
Pyatov next made another smart stop to deny Lewandowksi from close range; unfortunately for the keeper, the ball fell kindly for Boateng to tap in. Müller then curled centimetres wide, yet Bayern would not have long to wait to extend their advantage.
Four minutes into the second half another slick corner routine paid dividends, Götze and Boateng creating the room for Ribéry to slot in. A fourth goal followed swiftly, Pyatov beating Lewandowski to the ball yet pushing it only as far as Müller, who rolled into the empty net.
Bayern kept pressing for more goals and made it five shortly past the hour as Badstuber nodded in Rafinha's delivery for his first Bayern goal since December 2009. Lewandowski then claimed the goal he had threatened all night from Bastian Schweinsteiger's long pass, galloping clear before prodding past Pyatov.
Bayern were still not done, Götze getting the better of Pyatov at his near post in the 87th minute to complete a victory that equals the biggest win in a UEFA Champions League knockout match, level with Bayern's defeat of FC Basel 1893 at the same stage in 2012.
