FC Bayern claimed a 6-1 first-leg win away at Atalanta on Tuesday night to put themselves in a commanding position to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Josip Stanišić, Michael Olise and Serge Gnabry handed Bayern a comfortable 3-0 lead before half-time. Nicolas Jackson, Olise and Jamal Musiala then completed the half-dozen before Mario Pašalić grabbed a stoppage-time consolation for the hosts.
Bayern’s incessant pressure paid off handsomely as the German champions took firm control of the tie against Atalanta.
Stanišić’s tap-in set the visitors on their way before a quickfire double from Gnabry and Olise made it 3-0 inside 25 minutes. There was no let-up, though.
Jackson added a fine counterattacking goal after the restart before Olise bent in his second with a similar effort to his first. Substitute Musiala struck a sixth midway through the second half, though Atalanta’s Pašalić had the final word with a late consolation in added time.
Meanwhile, Galatasaray will head to Anfield next Wednesday with a narrow advantage after Mario Lemina’s seventh-minute header ultimately decided a fast-paced encounter in Istanbul.
Lemina converted after Victor Osimhen redirected Gabriel Sara’s corner into his path, the only goal of a frenetic first half that could easily have produced several more — Florian Wirtz and Davinson Sánchez among those who threatened.
It was more of the same in the second period, with Liverpool coming closest when Alexis Mac Allister shot just wide before Hugo Ekitike was brilliantly denied by Uğurcan Çakır.
In another match, Lamine Yamal converted a last-gasp penalty to earn Barcelona a draw at Newcastle ahead of next Wednesday’s second legs.
Yamal’s added-time penalty with the final kick of the contest denied Newcastle another famous win, the Barcelona winger holding his nerve to send Aaron Ramsdale the wrong way after Malick Thiaw fouled Dani Olmo.
The Magpies, beaten 2-1 at St James’ Park by Barcelona on Matchday 1, were on course for a narrow first-leg victory after Harvey Barnes fired home first time following Jacob Murphy’s pinpoint cross with four minutes to go.
The hosts always appeared the likelier of the two sides to open the scoring, with a Barnes curler striking the inside of the post in the second half before the England international finally got the late breakthrough. Yamal, however, had the last word.
IANS
