Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Bayern Beaten by Bate Borisov


Bate Borisov stunned Bayern Munich 3-1 in Champions League Group F, their second victory in two games.

Bate, who beat Lille by the same score in their opener, went ahead with a 23rd-minute goal from Aleksandr Pavlov and added late goals by Vitali Rodionov and Renan Bressan to snap Bayern's nine-game winning streak in all competitions. Frank Ribéry scored for Bayern in injury time.

"It was a very difficult match but we fought until the end," said the Bate winger Aleksandr Hleb, who spent seven years in the Bundesliga. "This is a sensational result for us. We will celebrate a bit but we need to keep working hard.

"Bayern are still favourites in our group. We are taking it one match at a time," said the former Barcelona player.

Last season's Champions League finalists had dominated the first half and hit the post through Toni Kroos but were nervous about going forward in the second period because of the Belarussian champions' potent counter-attacks. The result leaves the group wide open with Bate top on six points and Bayern on three with Valencia, who beat Lille 2-0.

The Bayern coach, Jupp Heynckes, aiming to break a club record with a 10th straight win, started with Javi Martínez instead of Bastian Schweinsteiger. However, the Spaniard, who cost €40m (£32m) in Bayern's biggest close-season transfer, showed little initiative and was taken off early in the second half.

The hosts were never intimidated by their more illustrious opponents and Denis Polyakov forced a reflex save from the Bayern goalkeeper, Manuel Neuer, after seven minutes.

"I knew this would be a very tough opponent and in such games you have to take the lead," said Heynckes. "We hit the post and bar and we had some bad luck.

"We constantly piled on the pressure but we have to give credit to our opponents. They are a very well-organised team, especially in defence, and they showed it again tonight."


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