On Tuesday night Italy could have lost their last representative in the European football tournaments, but an amazing second half comeback from defending Champions League holders Inter Milan took them through to the last eight.
The Italians were 2-1 down at half time and hosts Bayern were in full control of the situation. But an equalizer by Wesley Snejder and Goran Pandev’s 88th-minute goal earned for Inter a 3-2 victory in Munich.
That sent the Serie A side to the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive season thanks to the away goals rule, as they lost 1-0 at the San Siro in the first leg.
Inter became only the second team in Champions League history to overturn a first-leg home defeat and go through.
“We have been struck dumb by this. This is not the work of Inter Milan, this is our stupidity. Well, this is bitter,” Bayern striker Mario Gomez noted after the game.
“It was like a stab in the Bavarian heart when the third goal happened. This is tough, the team played fantastic in the first half,” Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge echoed.
In the other Tuesday Champions League clash, Manchester United made it to the quarter finals after a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille at Old Trafford.
Javier Hernandez scored both United goals, with a late Wes Brown own goal setting up a tense finish.
Inter and Manchester United joined Barcelona, Schalke 04, Tottenham and Shakhtar Donetsk in the last eight. On Wednesday, Chelsea and FC Copenhagen, and Real Madrid and Olympique Lyonnais will decide the remaining two quarterfinalists.
The next round draw will be held on Friday.