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| Basinas Gives Panathinaikos Win Over Barcelona Reuters
MUNICH, Germany, April 2 – European champions Bayern Munich came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in a thrilling Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, Claudio Pizarro striking the winner two minutes from time. The Peruvian's goal came after Bayern captain Stefan Effenberg, who had just missed a penalty, drew the home side level six minutes earlier.
ATHENS, April 3 – Panathinaikos earned a vital one-goal win over Barcelona thanks to a late penalty after a tight and defensive opening leg in their Champions League quarter-final first leg in Athens. The Greeks had several good chances in the first half but made the breakthrough when Finnish international Joonas Kolkka was felled by Abelardo with 13 minutes remaining and Angelos Basinas made no mistake from the spot. The hosts put Barca under immediate pressure, buoyed by a noisy home crowd but the Catalans, fielding a highly defensive formation quickly settled to silence the stands. The visitors' game plan consisted of feeding the ball quickly to Marc Overmars who gave full back Daniel Saric a nightmare evening. For the first 45 minutes it looked likely to bear fruit as the Dutch winger linked well with compatriot Patrick Kluivert in the centre but the pair failed to create clear chances. The home side instead forced the more dangerous openings with the powerful Michalis Konstantinou a muscular threat and Kolkka, returning to the side in peak form, causing similar problems to Overmars on the left side of the Panathinaikos attack. Both sides looked visibly tired from the relentless pressing in the second half with Barcelona slowly risking more in attack as the lone striker Kluivert looked for support. The Dutch forward burst through one on one with Antonis Nikopolidis in the 54th minute but the Greek goalkeeper came out quickly to save at his feet. Nikopolidis was called on twice more to make outstanding saves, first from Kluivert and then from substitute Rivaldo. The Brazilian's entrance for the final quarter hour signalled the Catalan's most dangerous spell but for the first time in the match it left holes in their defence. It was Kolkka's pace that eventually earned the hosts the lead as he was felled by Abelardo in the area with 13 minutes left. Midfield anchorman Basinas recovered from his patchy form in recent spot kicks and made no mistake with the ensuing penalty. The hosts nearly earned an unlikely two-goal lead with only minutes remaining as Emmanuel Olisadebe caused panic inside the Barcelona six-yard box.
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Soccer
