Mueller: Bayern are best team in last eight
Goulart fires Guangzhou clear
BERLIN: Bayern Munich will be the team to beat when the draw for the Champions League’s quarter-finals is made tomorrow, according to their German international Thomas Mueller.
Pep Guardiola’s Bayern threw down a marker for their European rivals when they hammered Shakhtar Donetsk 7-0 in Munich last week in the last 16, second leg clash, having been held to a 0-0 draw in Ukraine. The 2013 European champions are desperate to play in the June 6 final at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium and Mueller, who scored twice in the Donetsk rout, said Bayern will be one of the top names out of the hat when the draw for the last eight is made in Nyon, Switzerland.
“We were strong in the group phase and put down a marker in the last 16 which certainly made all the other teams sit up and take notice,” the 25-year-old striker told Sport Bild.
“From what I have seen so far, we are the most superior team in the Champions League this season.” The quarter-finals will be played over two legs on April 14/15 and 21/22 with the teams drawn first out of the hat hosting the first match.
Guardiola led Bayern to the German title and Cup double last season on his first season in charge, but his side were sent crashing out of the Champions League semifinals after a 4-0 drubbing at home by eventual winners Real Madrid after losing 1-0 in Spain.
Meanwhile, there was some good news for Bayern on Wednesday as wingers Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery trained with the side having missed last Saturday’s 4-0 Bundesliga win at Werder Bremen with injury. Robben sat out the Werder rout with a trapped nerve, but took part in team training, while Ribery trained on his own after straining an ankle ligament in the Donetsk win. Both could now be fit for Sunday’s Bundesliga clash with third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach with leaders Bayern 11 points clear of Wolsburg at the top of the table.—AFP BEIJING: Tournament top-scorer Ricardo Goulart blasted a brace as 2013 winners Guangzhou Evergrande beat Kashima Antlers 4-3 to near a spot in the AFC Champions League knock-out rounds yesterday. China’s record signing kept up his phenomenal strike rate with his fifth and sixth goals in just three games as Fabio Cannavaro’s side went five points clear in Group H.
But Guangzhou needed the Brazilian’s goals in a pulsating match, which Kashima briefly led before succumbing to the Chinese champions’ superior firepower.
Goulart opened the scoring with a looping header on nine minutes, after losing his marker in a free-kick routine straight off the training field. Kashima hit back through Hiroyuki Takasaki’s close finish on the rebound on 36 minutes, before Shoma Doi gave the visitors a shock lead after half-time.
But Guangzhou quickly equalised when Elkeson nodded in a carbon-copy of Goulart’s goal from another free-kick, before setting up his fellow Brazilian for the third.
Goulart picked up the loose ball after Elkeson’s strong challenge, and he surged into a gap between two defenders before firing in off the upright with his lethal left foot.
Substitute Zhao Xuri scrambled Guangzhou’s fourth in injury time before Gaku Shibasaki’s bullet header seconds later-but with no time for Kashima to grab an equaliser.
Holders and group rivals Western Sydney Wanderers drew 00 with FC Seoul to leave Guangzhou already eyeing the last 16 with three pool games to go.
Elsewhere, Australian champions Brisbane Roar had to scramble to rescue a point against Suwon Bluewings in Group G despite being two-up in the first 22 minutes. In another thrilling match, Brandon Borrello and Devante Clut gave the hosts the two-goal cushion before the South Korean side fought back with a brace from Seo Jung-Jin.
North Korean striker Jong TaeSe appeared to have secured a famous win on 71 minutes, before Clut spared Brisbane’s blushes with his equaliser with 10 minutes to go.
In Group F, Theerathon Bunmathan levelled on 62 minutes as Thailand’s Buriram United held Japanese treble-winners Gamba Osaka 1-1 away. —AFP