Leonardo of Inter Milan
Goran Pandev struck two minutes from time to give FC Internazionale Milano a dramatic win at FC Bayern München and propel the UEFA Champions League holders through to the quarter-finals on away goals.
Bayern's 1-0 first-leg advantage lasted just four minutes as Samuel Eto'o tucked away his eighth goal of the competition. By 31 minutes Mario Gomez and Thomas Müller had struck to turn the game on its head, giving Louis van Gaal's men a handy lead – but there was a nasty sting in the tail for a side beaten by the Nerazzurri in last May's showpiece.
Wesley Sneijder's 63rd-minute equaliser set the platform for Pandev, who fired high into the net as Inter became only the second club in UEFA Champions League history – and the first in 15 years – to overturn a first-leg deficit on their travels.
Bayern had failed to win either of their two previous home games against Inter and that record looked set to continue as Eto'o quickly evened up the tie. The prolific Cameroonian latched onto Pandev's perfectly-judged pass, and his confidence was evident as he deftly slipped the ball beyond Thomas Kraft. Bayern's first-leg match-winner Gomez has matched Eto'o goal for goal in the competition, and the German international registered his eighth of the campaign soon after.
The Bundesliga's record signing had proved sharpest in Milan when Júlio César spilled a powerful Arjen Robben drive, and it was a near-copy of that incident that tipped the tie back Bayern's way. The Brazilian goalkeeper again allowed a Robben shot to squirm from his grasp, and Gomez brilliantly hooked the loose ball back over his shoulder and into the empty net.
Robben was a vibrant presence, popping up everywhere, and eight minutes later he appeared on the left and darted incisively in from the flank. His through ball – intended for Gomez – deflected off Thiago Motta into the path of Müller, whose delightful finish found the bottom corner. Ribéry then brought a fine save from Júlio César before the Brazilian was beaten again.
This time Andrea Ranocchia came to his rescue, scrambling away via a post as he and Müller lunged to reach a ball that Gomez had turned tantalisingly across goal. Bayern largely contented themselves with trying to contain the visitors after the break, though a ferocious Gomez volley would have surely put the tie beyond Inter but for Júlio César's acrobatic intervention.
The hosts' cushion was uncomfortably reduced, though, when Sneijder drilled a low shot past Kraft to level on the night. Pandev then wasted a good opportunity only to make amends in the closing stages – the Macedonian international produced an unerring finish from Eto'o's lay-off to keep Inter's title defence alive.
Louis van Gaal, Bayern coach
We wanted too much, which is a pity. It's not the first time this has happened: four or five times already this season we have given away a match we should have won and today it happened again. We could have settled matters earlier. Instead Inter are still standing, still have a chance – even if they hardly created any tonight, they did convert them. That's always a possibility in football.
The players gave their all, which is the criterion for a coach to judge if he is still getting through to the team. They enjoyed the match and so did the fans; now we are all disappointed we lost but we witnessed a good match.
Leonardo, Inter coach
It is very difficult to explain this game – we won, that's all that matters. I don't want to go into technical details now; I prefer to focus on my players' heart. We planned the game very well, scored immediately and played well until the game turned in Bayern's favour. They scored the second and could have had more but we finally managed to reorganise and played a great second half.
We did well, retaining possession and waiting for the best moments to hit them. We created a few opportunities even if we risked conceding as well. I'm so happy for Pandev, who has had a very difficult period. He has been criticised for missing a few chances but he has always continued to work hard and he has been repaid tonight. It's a great moment, a fantastic joy and I can only thank God for letting me experience this feeling tonight.
It's a historic result considering how difficult the game was and how strong our opponents were but we have already done something like this in the league, coming from behind and scoring in the final minutes. It's a sign that these players have great faith in the team, we never give up. The European champions are still standing.
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