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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Getafe - Bayern Munich

Contra 1-0 ( Download )

Ribery 1-1 ( Download )

Casquero 2-1
( Download )

Braulio 3-1 ( Download )

Toni 3-2 ( Download )

Toni 3-3
( Download )

Toni Doubles set Bayern semi-final

Luca Toni sent Bayern Munich into the semi finals of the UEFA by scoring with the last kick of the game after an incredible encounter had seen ten man Getafe lead by two goals with five minutes of extra time remaining.

In what will go down as one of the historic European encounters, the visitors grabbed a late equaliser on the nigh to force extra time and then scored twice in the final moments to sneak through on away goals.

It was heartbreaking for the home team who had played virtually the whole match with a player less after Rubén De la Red was sent off only six minutes into the game.

Cosmin Contra conjured up another incredible goal in the first half and it looked Geta would hold on only for Franck Ribery to level in with only seconds to spare before the end of 90 minutes.

But the evening had already begun with a major twist as Miroslav Klose was brought down en route to the are by De La Red and, even though David Cortés was level, the referee deemed that he as the last man and sent the midfielder for an early bath.

Moments later Bayern had the ball in the net but Toni was adjudged to have handled and Geta breathed a sigh of relief as they began to reorganise with a man left.

The hosts received another blow when Ikechukwu Uche pulled up with an injury after 19 minutes and had to be replaced by David Belenguer, but the Catalan defender proved to be an inspiration.

Bayern knew that they had to score, but looked rushed at times and over-confident at others as they worked out the best way to break through the eight-man Geta rearguard.

Demechelis rose highest in the area to meet Ribery's corner, but the defender headed well over the bar before Bastian Schweinsteiger fired wide after Abbondanzieri came flying out of his goal and completely missed a cross.

Clear chances were few and far between but it was a surprise to everyone when the next one fell to Getafe and it was enough to give them the lead a minute before the break.

After passing Van Bommel and Demechelis on a barmy run from the halfway line, Contra moved into the area and hammered the ball past Kahn and into the roof of the net.

Even King Juan Carlos of Spain was on his feet to applaud the Romananian as he sped away to celebrate scoring twice against Bayern within a week.

The second half continued along much the same lines at the start as Getafe sat back and defended admirably, while the visitors looked slightly unsure about the best approach despite their litany of star forwards.

Bayern did put the ball into the net again but it was ruled out for a foul as Toni was adjudged to have pushed Belenguer over minutes before Klose nodded just wide of the far post.

Casquero proved that Getafe were still capable of causing problems when he side-stepped his marker on the edge of the area before sending a low drive just past Kahn's far post.

At the other end Klose volleyed just over before Braulio was picked out running through the middle by Jaime Gavilán and after appearing to round Kahn slipped at the moment he was shooting.

Tension began to grow as Getafe held on and it looked like they were going to record a memorable win in normal time, but the second twist was not far away.

After Toni nodded the ball just wide of the far post and Gavilán pushed it past Kahn without realising that it travelled forward and when he did he raced forward and flicked it back to Braulio, whose shot was blocked on the line.

Then, in the 89th minute, Geta's night was rocked as a soft headed clearance fell to Ribery and he volleyed home the equaliser to push the game into extra time.

Bayern's celebrations said it all and it appeared that they now had the momentum behind them going into the extra 30 minutes of the encounter.

Ottmar Hitzfeld's call for calm and patience were not heeded however as Getafe came out and rattled Bayern by pushing forward and the tactic worked as they twice inside a minute,

First Casquero took aim from 20 yards and drove his shot in off the near post and just as the team had settled Lucio slipped when meeting a low cross and Braulio made up for his earlier miss by turning and firing home.

Two quick fire goals had put the home team in command and they had 25 minutes to hold on and record a victory that would long be remembered in this corner of the Spanish capital.

Bayern inevitably continued to push and Toni went close at one end befor Gavilán shot wide at the other with the final chance of the opening quarter of an hour.

At the start of the second half the home team looked set to hold onto their advantage and run down the clock but one mistake would cost them dearly.

Bayern were given a lifeline in the 115th minute as a slow free-kick drifted into the area and Abbondanzieri stooped to catch the ball, but spilt it and Toni stroked the ball in.

That sent a wave of panic through the hosts and the fans' celebrations were slightly mooted as nerves began to set in and in the final minute their fears became reality.

Oliver Kahn had run forward to join the attack but he was not involved as a last ditch ball was sent into the area and Toni rose to nod home the equaliser on the night and the winner for Bayern.

The German outfit will now face FC Zenit St. Petersburg on 24 April and 1 May in the semi finals.

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