Besiktas 1-3 Bayern Munich, Champions League: Match Review

Bayern Munich’s thumping victory over Besiktas takes them to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Bayern, who travelled to the Turkish capital with a secure 5-0 aggregate on hand, defeated the Turkish champions 1-3. Goals from Thiago Alcantara, Sandro Wagner and Gökhan Gönül (own goal) granted the Bavarians a victory at the Vodafone arena. Bayern suffered three bookings (Mats Hummels, Jerome Boateng and Rafinha collected yellow cards) and an injury at Istanbul. Thiago was subbed off after 30 minutes with a knock.

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Jupp Heynckes, who now holds the record for most consecutive Champions League wins, is apparently contented about the victory against a strong side at their home. However, the 72 year old was quite disappointed about Bayern players collecting too many yellow cards. He also mentioned Thiago’s injury during the post match interview and said that he thinks it might not be too serious:

We progressed smoothly if you consider both matches. Besiktas hadn’t lost at home in the competition before, which shows they’re a very strong team. It’s not easy to win here. We were certain to advance when it was 7-0. It’s perfectly normal that you have problems here and there. The only pinch of bitterness was that we collected too many yellow cards. Thiago felt pain in the sole of his foot. He’ll be examined tomrrow but I don’t think it’s too serious.

Thomas Muller, who was the captain in the absence of Manuel Neuer, said that the players are delighted that they have done their jobs and booked a berth in the Round of eight:

It was a hectic match, both teams often lost possession, especially ourselves in the second half. Taken altogether we put up good resistance, even if our organization was not ideal. If you win 3-1 in Istanbul, you haven’t done everything wrong. We’re delighted we’ve done our jobs, now we’re focusing on the next round.

Jerome Boateng seemed to enjoy playing in Istanbul amidst of the struggles. He indicated that the team should improve since quarterfinals bring stronger opponents:

It was great fun to play here. We scored at the right time but struggled at times due to silly mistakes. We know we have to improve, we’ll face stronger opponents in the Champions League.

Besiktas midfielder Oguzhan Ozyakup said that the game was just a formality because they knew that they wouldn’t be able to get past Bayern after the first leg:

We lost our qualification chances in the first leg, so this game was just a formality. We want to win the Turkish Super league again and come back to the Champions League stronger next season.

The quarterfinals draw will take place on Friday and the first legs will be played on 3/4 April, the second legs will be staged just a week later on 10/11 April.

Positives:

• Sandro Wagner keeps showing that he’s a worthy backup to Robert Lewandowski
• James Rodriguez played his first minutes back on the pitch since injury.
• Bayern didn’t get any yellow card suspensions — Joshua Kimmich, Robert Lewandowski, and Sebastian Rudy were all spared.
• The cat was kinda cute.

Negatives:

• Silly yellow cards for Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels puts Jupp Heynckes under unnecessary pressure.
• The injury to Thiago Alcantara was a huge blow.

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