MUNICH: Arsenal must deal Bayern Munich its worst home loss in Champions League history to reach the quarterfinals.
Bayern won 3-1 in London and is the highest-scoring team in this season’s Champions League (18 goals), while Arsenal is one of the two teams with the worst defensive record (11 conceded). Bayern has only lost nine times in 82 Champions League home matches, and never by more than 2-0.
Arsenal forward Gervinho believes “a miracle” is still possible and manager Arsene Wenger said the return leg today was not “mission impossible.”
Bayern will be missing Franck Ribery and Bastian Schweinsteiger but Jupp Heynckes’ team is in such form that the coach gave his top players a day off after Saturday’s harder than expected 3-2 Bundesliga win over Fortuna Duesseldorf.
“Arsenal is not just any club,” Heynckes said. “I know that we need 100 percent commitment in such a game.”
Bayern captain Philipp Lahm suggested his teammates should take the game as if the result of the first leg was 0-0.
“But we know we are in a good form,” Lahm said. “It’s going to be tough for Arsenal, they have to defend well and still score three goals.”
Arsenal will be without key midfielder Jack Wilshere, who was ruled out for three weeks Tuesday with an ankle injury.
Ribery is out with an ankle injury, while Schweinsteiger and defender Jerome Boateng are suspended. Defender Holger Badstuber is out for the season with a knee injury.
Heynckes said Ribery’s injury was not serious but the coach could not give a timeframe for his return.
Ribery’s place is likely to be taken by Arjen Robben, who missed the game against Duesseldorf with a light calf injury but is ready to play Wednesday.
Midfielder Thomas Mueller said Bayern has to be focused and cautious “because this is a knockout game.”
“But we are not going to sit back and crowd the defense,” Mueller said. “They have nothing to lose, they can attack all the way. We have to be careful.”
Bayern is dominating the season at home — it is 20 points ahead in the Bundesliga, it has reached the semifinals of the German Cup and is on the verge of advancing to the quarterfinals in the Champions League. Bayern is a four-time winner and was runner-up in two of the last three seasons.
If Arsenal is eliminated, England won’t have a team in the last eight for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
Urawa Reds return to winners circle in ACL
In Saitama, Japan, the former champions Urawa Reds scored three second-half goals in a 4-1 Group F win over Thailand’s Muangthong United yesterday to register their first victory in the Asian Champions League since 2008.
Yosuke Kashiwagi opened the scoring for the 2007 champions in the eighth minute and Urawa got an added advantage when Muangthong defender Piyaphon Buntao was sent off after collecting his second yellow card, leaving the visitors with 10 men for the last hour.
Kunimitsu Sekiguchi doubled the lead in the 64th minute with a shot from the left side before a header from Genki Haraguchi and an own goal from Thritthi Nonsrichai extended Urawa’s lead to 4-0. Siaka Dagno scored a late consolation goal for the Thai champions.
In the other Group F match, striker Muriqui scored a 64th-minute equalizer for Chinese Super League champion Guangzhou Evergrande to secure a 1-1 draw with Jeonbuk Motos of South Korea.
Marcello Lippi’s Guangzhou squad, which opened with a 3-0 win over Urawa Reds two weeks ago, leads the group with four points.
There were two 0-0 draws in Group E, with China’s Jiangsu Sainty holding J-League club Vegalta Sendai scoreless and Buriram United and K-League champion FC Seoul maintaining their unbeaten starts with a scoreless draw in Thailand.
Seoul opened the tournament with a 5-1 win over Jiangsu Sainty two weeks ago, but was unable to find a breakthrough at Buriram.
“We are not disappointed with the draw. We are very tired but satisfied with the result as this is a very tough away fixture, FC Seoul coach Choi Yong-soo said.
