Bayern into last 16, while Arsenal is left behind

Bayern Munich, a shadow of the team that has been so imperious in the Bundesliga this season, survived a shaky second half and missed a late penalty against Arsenal on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.

The holders looked less than all-conquering in a 1-1 second-leg draw against Arsenal, which was left with too much to do after losing 2-0 at home in the opening match of the last-16 encounter.

Bayern has dropped only four points all season in the Bundesliga, and scored 15 goals in their last three games, but weren’t at their best against the Londoners at Allianz Arena.

Bastian Schweinsteiger broke the tie in the 55th minute before Bayern’s Lukas Podolski replied almost immediately for Arsenal, which grew in confidence and brought out goalkeeper Manuel Neuer’s eccentric side.

The Bavarians won a penalty when Arjen Robben reacted theatrically to a foul by Laurent Koscielny in stoppage time and Thomas Mueller’s spot kick was stopped by keeper Lukasz Fabianski, ending a run of 13 straight wins in all competitions.

“We had to defend a lot in the first half but we knew that by being in the game at halftime we stood a good chance to win and I believe in the second half the opportunities were there,” said manager Arsene Wenger after Arsenal’s fourth successive last-16 exit.

“We never got them really under pressure, they suddenly became nervous but because we never managed to make it 2-1 you could not see how they would have responded,” the Frenchman said.

Arsenal lost to the Germans on away goals at the same stage last season, despite winning 2-0 in Munich. Coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday that the lead Bayern held from the first leg prevented his team from going all out on the attack.

Bayern spent most of the first half probing a resilient Arsenal defense that just about managed to hold out. Bayern finally broke through 10 minutes after the restart when Ribery sneaked into the area and laid the ball off for Schweinsteiger to finish from eight meters (26.2 feet).

Reuters