Gomez puts Bayern in control

Mario Gomez scored a last-minute winner to put Bayern Munich firmly in control of their last 16 Champions League tie against Inter yesterday.

In the night’s other match, Manchester United and Marseille shared the spoils, but no goals, as the clash ended in a drab and forgettable 0-0 draw.

Bayern’s 1-0 success meant that all three remaining Italian teams in the competition lost their second round home legs and all face the prospect of crashing out at this stage with tougher away games still to come.

For Bayern it also went some way to exacting revenge for their Champions League final defeat to Inter in Madrid back in May.

Bayern almost handed Inter a dream start with some shocking defending in the second minute as Andrea Ranocchia was left alone eight metres out to meet a Wesley Sneijder free-kick but he flicked it wide.

The Germans had two quick chances but Lucio blocked a Franck Ribery shot and centre-back partner Ranocchia got in the way of a Thomas Mueller effort.

With the Inter defence backing off Luiz Gustavo tried his luck from 25 yards but it flashed just wide. And moments later he had a crack from outside the box that took a wicked deflection and almost looped into the top ­corner.

It wasn’t all Bayern as brilliant work from Samuel Eto’o down the right saw him beat Holger Badstuber and feed the ball inside to Esteban Cambiasso but Thomas Kraft got out well to block his hurried shot.

Eto’o was skinning Badstuber every time and Bayern coach Louis van Gaal acted in the first half, bringing on Brazilian Breno to marshal the speedy Cameroon captain.

A snap-shot on the turn from Eto’o forced Kraft into a diving one-handed save and late in the first half some careless play from Bayern presented a pair of chances to Sneijder and Maicon but neither could capitalise.

Robben created the chance of the match for Mueller two minutes after the restart but from inside the six-yard box the young German somehow headed wide of the far post.

And then on a lightning counter after Inter gave the ball away in midfield, Robben ran across the defence and hit the outside of the post with a right-footed effort.

With 10 minutes left Inter had a sniff of goal but Kraft stood up to Houssine Kharja’s cross-shot while a deflected Sneijder free-kick then landed on the roof of the net.

From the corner Thiago Motta headed straight at Kraft and an Eto’o shot was also deflected wide as the hosts suddenly started to push for a winner.

But in the last minute Julio Cesar, who hadn’t made a save of note all night, failed to hold a skimming drive from Robben and Gomez tapped home the rebound.

In France, with Marseille fearful of conceding an away goal and United rusty in attack the game was reduced to a war of attrition in which ponderous passing and stout defending were the order of the day.

The game’s best chance saw Darren Fletcher draw a smart save from Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda with a low drive and it was one of few highlights on a night when the teams succeeded only in cancelling each other out.

In the absence of a knockout blow in the first leg, a goal for Marseille in the return match on March 15 will put them in a commanding position to reach the last eight for the first time since they won the tournament in 1993.

Marseille coach Didier Deschamps had spoken before the match about the importance of keeping a clean sheet and with his side playing in cautious fashion, United were allowed to take the initiative.

The visitors appeared keen to test former United player Gabriel Heinze’s ageing legs in the Marseille left-back position and Nani was regularly sought out with searching passes into the space behind the Argentine.

Fletcher’s chance arrived in the eighth minute as he tested ­Mandanda with a skidding effort from the edge of the box, while Souleymane Diawara showed alertness to block from Wayne Rooney.

The good positions that Marseille did manage to adopt were squandered due to a reluctance to shoot at goal, testament perhaps to the absence through injury of in-form striker Andre-Pierre Gignac.

The hosts’ flurry of attacking endeavour roused the notoriously demanding Stade Velodrome crowd but United – who conceded just one goal in the group phase – defended calmly and were not unduly troubled.

Round of 16 – first legs

Played yesterday

Inter 0
B. Munich 1
Gomez 90;

Marseille 0
Man. United 0

Second legs: March 15.

Already played
Arsenal 2 - Barcelona 1
Roma 2 - S. Donetsk 3
Second legs: March 8.

Milan 0 - Tottenham 1
Valencia 1 - Schalke 1
Second legs: March 9.

Copenhagen 0 - Chelsea 2
Lyon 1 - R. Madrid 1
Second legs: March 16.