Football: Bayern are on a roll, says four-goal Gomez
Striker pleased after side’s 7-0 rout of Basel in Champions League.
MUNICH:
Germany striker Mario Gomez smashed four goals in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 rout of FC Basel on Tuesday and insisted his team have big ambitions as they marched into the Champions League’s last-eight.
“We still have big goals and we’ve achieved nothing yet,” said Gomez, who with ten goals is second only to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who has 12, as the Champions League’s top-scorer.
Gomez scored in a 23-minute spell, equalling the 2003 record set by AS Monaco striker Dado Prso for the quickest four-goal haul in the competition.
Having come to Germany holding a 1-0 lead from the first-leg three weeks ago, Basel’s dreams of reaching the Champions League’s last-eight for the first time were rudely awakened as they lost the tie 7-1 on aggregate.
Munich’s Allianz Arena hosts the Champions League final on May 19 and Bayern’s emphatic second-leg victory puts them in Friday’s quarter-finals draw.
This was the biggest win in a Champions League knockout match as records tumbled and Bayern bettered their 7-1 home win over Sporting Lisbon from the 2009 competition, also in the round of 16.
Gomez has now scored seven goals in his last two games having netted a hat-trick last Saturday when Bayern beat Hoffenheim 7-1 at home. Winger Arjen Robben, who scored twice against Basel, has now scored four in two games, while Thomas Mueller also netted against the Swiss.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2012.
Germany striker Mario Gomez smashed four goals in Bayern Munich’s 7-0 rout of FC Basel on Tuesday and insisted his team have big ambitions as they marched into the Champions League’s last-eight.
“We still have big goals and we’ve achieved nothing yet,” said Gomez, who with ten goals is second only to Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, who has 12, as the Champions League’s top-scorer.
Gomez scored in a 23-minute spell, equalling the 2003 record set by AS Monaco striker Dado Prso for the quickest four-goal haul in the competition.
Having come to Germany holding a 1-0 lead from the first-leg three weeks ago, Basel’s dreams of reaching the Champions League’s last-eight for the first time were rudely awakened as they lost the tie 7-1 on aggregate.
Munich’s Allianz Arena hosts the Champions League final on May 19 and Bayern’s emphatic second-leg victory puts them in Friday’s quarter-finals draw.
This was the biggest win in a Champions League knockout match as records tumbled and Bayern bettered their 7-1 home win over Sporting Lisbon from the 2009 competition, also in the round of 16.
Gomez has now scored seven goals in his last two games having netted a hat-trick last Saturday when Bayern beat Hoffenheim 7-1 at home. Winger Arjen Robben, who scored twice against Basel, has now scored four in two games, while Thomas Mueller also netted against the Swiss.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 15th, 2012.