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Bayern’s Rafinha (right) and Thomas Mueller celebrate their victory. (AFP-Yonhap) |
LONDON (AP) ― Toni Kroos and Thomas Mueller scored second-half goals to give defending champion Bayern Munich a 2-0 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League second-round matchup.
Kroos scored in the 54th minute when he curled the ball past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who entered after Wojciech Szczesny was given a red card for fouling Arjen Robben in the 37th. Mueller scored with a powerful header from close range in the 88th.
Both teams failed to convert penalty kicks in the first half. Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer batted away Mesut Ozil’s kick straight at him in the eighth minute after Ozil was fouled by Jerome Boateng. Bayern’s David Alaba hit a post in the 40th after Szczesny’s foul.
In the night’s other match, seven-time champion Atletico Madrid won 1-0 at AC Milan on Diego Costa’s header off Gabi’s cross in the 83rd minute.
The second legs of the total-goals series are March 11.
