Champions League Round of 16 [March 13th, 2012]

Day 1,575, 20:02 Published in USA USA by PappasXXV



Six days after Lionel Messi's historic five goal performance powered Barcelona to a 7-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen, Mario Gomez had a career performance that could have given the reigning Ballon d'Or winner a run for his money.

In Bayern Munich's second leg game against Switzerland's FC Basel, Gomez tied for scoring the fastest four goals in a single Champions League game, finding the back of the net in the 44th, 50th, 61st, and 67th minutes. With goals from his teammates Arjen Robben (11', 81') and Thomas Muller (42'), Gomez's Munich side ran to a 7-0 rout of Basel in Allianz Arena, the site of the League final in May.

This victory helped make Basel's 1-0 first leg home win a distant memory and effectively sent the 14-time Swiss champions packing with a 7-1 aggregate score. On their way home from their worst ever European defeat, Basel can hold onto the fact that they are the only Swiss side ever to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League. They are currently seven points ahead of second placed Lucerne in the Swiss Super League.

The other match on today's Champions League plate saw Internazionale of Milan face off against Olympique Marseille at Milan's legendary San Siro. Following a 1-0 loss in Marseille, Inter Milan were hoping to bounce back to keep their Champions League hopes alive. With a 1-0 scoreline at the end of 90 minutes thanks to a 75th minute goal by Diego Milito, Inter were poised for a shootout against the French. Two minutes later though, a goal from Marseille's Brandao broke the hearts of the fans in the stadium. To avoid a harrowing elimination thanks to the Away Goals rule, Inter would need to score two goals in what remained of extra time to stay alive. Giampaolo Pazzini's 96th minute goal on a penalty kick brought the first goal, but the second goal never came.

Inter Milan were eliminated from the competition in their beloved stadium thanks to Marseille's lone goal. Inter are currently seventh in Italy's Serie A, seventeen points behind rivals AC Milan, who progressed passed Arsenal last week to make it to the Round of 8.

Bayern Munich and Olympique Marseille join Portugal's Benfica, Spain's Barcelona, AC Milan, and Cyprus's APOEL Nicosia in the Round of 8. Tomorrow, Napoli hope to seal the deal against Chelsea in London's Stamford Bridge after their 3-1 victory over the English side last week. CSKA Moscow will also face off against Spanish giant Real Madrid in Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with a first leg 1-1 tie.


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