Bayern stunning fightback wows Pep – Allegri changes in spotlight as Juve let Bavarians off the hook

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MUNICH, Germany, March 17, (Agencies): Bayern Munich’s stunning four-goal fightback to beat Juventus had the ‘wow’ factor for Pep Guardiola as the Bavarians reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the fifth season in a row.

Substitutes Thiago Alcantara and Kingsley Coman scored extra-time goals as Bayern roared back to beat Juve 4-2 in their last-16, second-leg tie and seal a 6-4 aggregate victory.

A stunned Bayern found themselves 2-0 down after 28 minutes at the Allianz Arena as Paul Pogba and Juan Cuadrado struck for the Italians before the Bavarian side floored the Italians with four unanswered goals.

But the hosts left it late as Robert Lewandowski netted on 73 minutes before Thomas Mueller’s dramatic equaliser in the 91st minute forced extra time.

Just as Juventus had fought back in Turin to draw the first leg 2-2, so Bayern came back in Munich.

Thiago put Bayern ahead for the first time on 108 minutes before fellow replacement Coman — on loan from Juventus — curled in a superb strike on 110 minutes to cap the fairytale finish.

“Four goals against an Italian team. Wow!” beamed Bayern manager Guardiola.

“I don’t know how often that has happened in history that a German team has scored four goals against an Italian side.

“It was a great game for the fans.

“We played against last season’s finalists and to come back from 2-0 down is very hard.”

The fightback keeps alive Guardiola’s dream of bringing the Champions League trophy to Munich at the third and final attempt before his high-profile move to Manchester City next season.

But Guardiola baulked at a cheeky question as to whether he would now like to face his future employers in the quarter-finals or the final in Milan on May 28.

“I can’t decide that. We’ll have to see what comes from the draw,” he said tersely.

This is the seventh time Guardiola has reached the Champions League quarter-finals in as many attempts as a coach at the highest level.

In his four years with Barcelona, he won the title in 2009 and 2011, reaching the semi-finals in 2010 and 2012, while he steered Bayern to the last four in Europe in each of the last two seasons.

It was a heartbreaking end for last season’s finalists Juventus.

“Of course I am disappointed,” said their coach Massimiliano Allegri.

“But I have to pay my team a big compliment: we played one of the favourites for the title and we played better than in the first leg.

“That’s football, we made our first big mistake after 90 minutes.

“And they scored from one of their first few chances through Lewandowski.

“We could have reacted better, but we didn’t have the strength left to score another goal.

“We were 2-0 up and we could have been 3-0 up, but it’s not easy to get a result here.

“We could have decided the game earlier, it’s a pity, but at the end we have put in two games and I’m happy with the performance.

“Now we have to concentrate on winning the Serie A and then come back better in the Champions League.”

Much had been made in the build-up about how vulnerable Bayern are on the counter-attack and Guardiola’s side were again found wanting on the break as Juventus went ahead with just five minutes gone.

“That was a crazy game,” said goalscorer Mueller. “We knew, even when we were 2-0 down, that we were still in it.”

Bayern captain Philipp Lahm added: “What an unbelievable evening. You could see how tight things are when two top teams meet each other. We knew it would be all over if we had conceded a third goal.”

Juventus were just a minute away from their first victory in Munich since 2004 and their captain Gianluigi Buffon said the tie had been decided by fine margins.

“Football results depend on chances,” said the 38-year-old.

“They attacked a lot in the second half and took advantage of their chances.

“It’s always a pity to concede a goal in the last minute of a game, but I’m proud of my team.

“We are going out with our heads held high.”

Massimiliano Allegri is regarded as one of Europe’s most tactically astute coaches but a rare miscalculation from the Juventus boss contributed to their Champions League downfall against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Juventus were almost perfect for the first hour as they led 2-0 in the round of 16 second leg tie and gave Pep Guardiola’s Bayern a footballing lesson in their own Allianz arena.

But two substitutions by Allegri handed the initiative to Bayern who hit back with two late goals to level at 2-2 and then scored twice more in extra-time to win 4-2 and 6-4 on aggregate after an extraordinary, see-saw tie.

First, Sami Khedira, who had been a rock in midfield, was replaced with the less experienced Stefano Sturaro.

Almost immediately, Allegri took off forward Alvaro Morata, who had created Juve’s second goal with a magnificent 60-metre run that left the Bayern midfield in his wake, and brought on Mario Mandzukic.

Until that moment, Juve’s performance was a near replica of their previous visit to Germany, where they won 3-0 at Borussia Dortmund at the same stage of the competition last year.

Allegri set up an impenetrable barrier in defence, forcing Bayern to pass the ball sideways for most of the first hour, and picked off Bayern with level counterattacks.

But they lost their attacking edge after the changes, with Mandzukic devoting most of his energy to provoking Bayern defenders and Sturaro looking uncomfortable in midfield.

In just 28 minutes after those changes, the Juventus defence, which has not conceded a goal in their last 10 Serie A matches, was breached four times to leave Italy without a team in the last eight.

One of the few moves they managed to string together after the changes broke down when Sturaro slipped and lost the ball.

Allegri admitted the course of the game had altered drastically, but omitted to say whether this was down to his substitutions.

“Nobody expected us to play like this against Bayern in Munich,” he said. “We lost but we can be proud of our performance here.

“We were leading 2-0 and had the chance to make it three. We played well and showed our qualities.”

The coach was also let down by Juve’s apparent lack of strength in depth.

Forward Paulo Dybala, midfielder Claudio Marchisio and defender Giorgio Chiellini were all injured and the remaining options, while perfectly adequate for Serie A, were not up to the task of challenging Europe’s elite.

Allegri, however, has a habit of proving his critics wrong and is likely to bounce back.

He was given a hostile reception by Juventus fans when he replaced Antonio Conte at the start of last season, but quickly proved them wrong by winning the Serie A and Coppa Italia and reaching the Champions League final.

Earlier this season, he was criticised for initially leaving Dybala on the bench.

Allegri insisted that the 22-year-old Argentine needed time, and has again been proved right as he has since gone on to score 14 goals and quickly turned into the most exciting player in Serie A.

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