Post by Janjoon-Lebanese on Nov 19, 2006 12:59:32 GMT -5
Bayern 2 Stuttgart 1 Roy and Claudio strike to down leaders
18.11.2006 The champions came from behind to beat the leaders on Saturday thanks to a first-half purple patch featuring goals from Roy Makaay and Claudio Pizarro.
There was a real buzz about the Allianz Arena ahead of the heavyweight clash of the weekend, but the Red majority in the 69,000 full house were stunned into silence when in-form marksman Mario Gomez handed the visitors an early lead.
Events last weekend in Leverkusen showed Bayern are eminently capable of turning a match on its head, and strike pair Makaay and Pizarro duly fired the home side into a half-time lead.
Deisler returns
The second period was a less satisfying affair as Bayern concentrated on defending their lead against the eager but uninspired leaders, as the stubborn Reds defence restricted their opponents to long-range and speculative efforts.
The best news of all was midfield wunderkind Sebastian Deisler's substitute appearance for a few brief seconds at the end, holding out the prospect of an exciting few months ahead.
The win, combined with results elsewhere in the Bundesliga, sees Bayern remain in fourth on 23 points from 13 matches, three behind new leaders Schalke but just adrift of Bremen and Stuttgart.
Reds unchanged
Following the maxim "never change a winning team", coach Felix Magath fielded the side which fought back to seal a dramatic 3-2 win against Bayer 04 last Saturday. There was also a place on the bench for Deisler, the gifted but injury-prone midfielder's first appearance in the matchday squad for more than eight months.
Bayern opened purposefully but were rocked on their heels in the eighth minute when Stuttgart's first foray upfield produced the opening goal, Brazil strilker Cacau and Christian Gentner combining superbly to release Gomez for a ten-yard sprint and clinical finish.
The Reds had recovered their composure by the quarter-hour and VfB keeper Timo Hildebrand was a busy man dealing with two Pizarro drives and a Martin Demichelis header.
Marksmen hit target
The Argentine defender was forced to clear over his own bar after running into difficulties against Cacau and Oliver Kahn saved well from the same player's skidding effort, but the action soon switched back to the other end as Mark van Bommel and Makaay each directed a shot across the face of Hildebrand's goal.
The overdue equaliser finally arrived on 27 minutes when Philipp Lahm swung over a fine deep cross off his weaker left boot for Makaay to soar above Cote d'Ivoire full-back Arthur Boka, at 5 ft 5 in one of the shortest players in the league, and power his first headed goal in 15 months past Hildebrand.
Bayern maintained the pressure and completed a fine comeback after 37 minutes following van Bommel's grittily determined burst down the right, the Dutch battler shaking off three defenders before threading a cross through a forest of legs to Pizarro's feet. The Peru ace, just a yard from goal, duly tapped his fourth of the season into the empty net.
Content to defend
It had been a good quality first 45 minutes, although the standard slipped after the break as Bayern contented themselves with repelling the visitors' frequent but rarely penetrating raids.
Van Bommel just failed to round off a slick counter-attack initiated by Pizarro and Makaay on the hour, before VfB sub Daniel Bierofka swerved a shot narrowly over the bar just seconds after coming on, but there was otherwise little by way of goalmouth action until a flurry right at the end.
Pizarro spooned over from five yards with the goal at his mercy, but the real news was Deisler's symbolic appearance a few seconds from the final whistle as the double winners held out in reasonable comfort to register another crucial three points.
Bayern Munich - VfB Stuttgart 2-1 (H-T: 2-1)
Bayern Munich: Kahn - Sagnol, van Buyten, Demichelis, Lahm - van Bommel, Ottl, Schweinsteiger (Lell 72), Salihamidzic - Pizarro (Santa Cruz 89), Makaay (Deisler 90)
Substitutes: Rensing, Saba, Scholl, Dos Santos
VfB Stuttgart: Hildebrand - Hilbert, Tasci, Delpierre, Boka - Gentner (Meira 54), Pardo, da Silva (Streller 79), Khedira (Bierofka 62) - Gomez, Cacau
Referee: Mr Weiner (Giesen)
Spectators: 69,000 (capacity)
Goals: 0-1 Gomez (8), 1-1 Makaay (27), 2-1 Pizarro (36)
Yellow Cards: Van Bommel / Pardo, Cacau
18.11.2006 The champions came from behind to beat the leaders on Saturday thanks to a first-half purple patch featuring goals from Roy Makaay and Claudio Pizarro.
There was a real buzz about the Allianz Arena ahead of the heavyweight clash of the weekend, but the Red majority in the 69,000 full house were stunned into silence when in-form marksman Mario Gomez handed the visitors an early lead.
Events last weekend in Leverkusen showed Bayern are eminently capable of turning a match on its head, and strike pair Makaay and Pizarro duly fired the home side into a half-time lead.
Deisler returns
The second period was a less satisfying affair as Bayern concentrated on defending their lead against the eager but uninspired leaders, as the stubborn Reds defence restricted their opponents to long-range and speculative efforts.
The best news of all was midfield wunderkind Sebastian Deisler's substitute appearance for a few brief seconds at the end, holding out the prospect of an exciting few months ahead.
The win, combined with results elsewhere in the Bundesliga, sees Bayern remain in fourth on 23 points from 13 matches, three behind new leaders Schalke but just adrift of Bremen and Stuttgart.
Reds unchanged
Following the maxim "never change a winning team", coach Felix Magath fielded the side which fought back to seal a dramatic 3-2 win against Bayer 04 last Saturday. There was also a place on the bench for Deisler, the gifted but injury-prone midfielder's first appearance in the matchday squad for more than eight months.
Bayern opened purposefully but were rocked on their heels in the eighth minute when Stuttgart's first foray upfield produced the opening goal, Brazil strilker Cacau and Christian Gentner combining superbly to release Gomez for a ten-yard sprint and clinical finish.
The Reds had recovered their composure by the quarter-hour and VfB keeper Timo Hildebrand was a busy man dealing with two Pizarro drives and a Martin Demichelis header.
Marksmen hit target
The Argentine defender was forced to clear over his own bar after running into difficulties against Cacau and Oliver Kahn saved well from the same player's skidding effort, but the action soon switched back to the other end as Mark van Bommel and Makaay each directed a shot across the face of Hildebrand's goal.
The overdue equaliser finally arrived on 27 minutes when Philipp Lahm swung over a fine deep cross off his weaker left boot for Makaay to soar above Cote d'Ivoire full-back Arthur Boka, at 5 ft 5 in one of the shortest players in the league, and power his first headed goal in 15 months past Hildebrand.
Bayern maintained the pressure and completed a fine comeback after 37 minutes following van Bommel's grittily determined burst down the right, the Dutch battler shaking off three defenders before threading a cross through a forest of legs to Pizarro's feet. The Peru ace, just a yard from goal, duly tapped his fourth of the season into the empty net.
Content to defend
It had been a good quality first 45 minutes, although the standard slipped after the break as Bayern contented themselves with repelling the visitors' frequent but rarely penetrating raids.
Van Bommel just failed to round off a slick counter-attack initiated by Pizarro and Makaay on the hour, before VfB sub Daniel Bierofka swerved a shot narrowly over the bar just seconds after coming on, but there was otherwise little by way of goalmouth action until a flurry right at the end.
Pizarro spooned over from five yards with the goal at his mercy, but the real news was Deisler's symbolic appearance a few seconds from the final whistle as the double winners held out in reasonable comfort to register another crucial three points.
Bayern Munich - VfB Stuttgart 2-1 (H-T: 2-1)
Bayern Munich: Kahn - Sagnol, van Buyten, Demichelis, Lahm - van Bommel, Ottl, Schweinsteiger (Lell 72), Salihamidzic - Pizarro (Santa Cruz 89), Makaay (Deisler 90)
Substitutes: Rensing, Saba, Scholl, Dos Santos
VfB Stuttgart: Hildebrand - Hilbert, Tasci, Delpierre, Boka - Gentner (Meira 54), Pardo, da Silva (Streller 79), Khedira (Bierofka 62) - Gomez, Cacau
Referee: Mr Weiner (Giesen)
Spectators: 69,000 (capacity)
Goals: 0-1 Gomez (8), 1-1 Makaay (27), 2-1 Pizarro (36)
Yellow Cards: Van Bommel / Pardo, Cacau
GOOOOOO REDS
