MTNFootball

Mario Gomez, Bayern Munich

Mario Gomez struck late in the first half before Arjen Robben completed Bayern Munich’s 2-0 Champions League win over Marseille at the Stade Velodrome in France.

Both sides looked destined for victory in this highly contested affair, which saw Bayern Munich dominate in the early stages although they did not capitalize on the chances they created.

The hosts were the first to create a clear cut scoring opportunity, in the 7th minute. Valbuena drifted in a corner, and a powerful header forced Neuer into a smart save from Fanni. The rebound fell to Remy who fired into the side-netting.

Frank Ribery was at the receiving end of some booing from the Marseille fans and looked the shadow of player who has been in such good form in the Bundesliga recently and he continued to give away position cheaply throughout the first stanza.

Bayern continued to dominate proceedings with Toni Kroos and Liz Gustavo combining well at the heart of their midfield.

Although the Bavarians controlled the tempo of the game, the hosts also appeared to be finding their own rhythm.

In the 22nd minute, another dangerous set-piece from Marseille saw Neuer forced to awkwardly punch the ball away.

Again in the 28th minute, Ayew picked up the ball on the left wing, and raced into the box, shooting at Neuer who made a smart save to deny the Ghanaian international.

While Bayern were undoubtedly the better team in the first half, Marseille had great chances of their own too, despite the German side controversially taking the lead in the 44th minute.

Replays showed that Lahm clearly handled the ball when defending and Bayern looped the ball towards Gomez at the other end in a quick-fire counter attack. The German star fired in low under Elinton, who should in truth, have done better. 1-0 to Bayern.

In the second half, Marseille surged forward in the early stages, and almost grabbed the equalizer when Valbuena did well to jump over Bayern’s make-shift right-back Alaba and headed over the bar in the 47th minute.

In the 59th minute, Gomez got into a fine position, before shooting straight at Andrade who saved well down to his left.

Immediately from Gomez's miss, Marseille surged up the field in numbers, and Remy held off Boateng. He tried to cut in again, and still got the shot away, but the on-rushing Neuer pushed it away for a corner.

In the 69th minute, Thomas Muller played a brilliant ball in towards Robben who evaded the defence and showed fantastic piece of close control, fired past Andrade. 2-0 and Marseille immediately looked down and out.

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Alou Diarra’s yellow cards meant they will both be missing the second leg as they both have accumulated three yellow cards.

Bayern passed the ball around with consummate ease, opting to protect their 2-0 lead while winding down the clock.

This win means the Bundesliga outfit takes a 2-0 lead to the Allianz Arena for the return leg in six days time.