The Bavarians had won all nine of
their games this season, but saw
their record shattered by the hosts,
who made it two wins from two in
their Champions League campaign
Bayern Munich's nine-match winning
streak came to an end in Mink when
they faced an incisive BATE team on
Tuesday.
The Bavarians dominated the match
for long periods, but fell behind to an
Alexander Pavlov strike. The visitors
laid seige to the Belarusian goal for
much of the rest of the match, but
were left frustrated and were killed off
by a dramatic Vitali Rodionov effort in
the final stages.
Bayern would have been expected to
take control of the match from the
early stages, but backed by their
passionate fans, it was BATE who
made the erly running.
Denis Polyakov was looking eager to
push forward, and on one customary
surge, found Rodionov, who forced a
decent save from Manuel Neuer, who
saw the effort late.
However, the Bavarians soon began
to take control. Toni Kroos nicked
possession from the lax Dmitri
Likhtarovich, left goalkeeper Andrey
Gorbunov in his wake, but, slightly off
balance, could only send a shot
against the woodwork.
Holger Badstuber attempted to break
the deadlock with a 35-yard free kick,
but bent the ball straight into
Gorbunov's arms, before the keeper
was quick off his line to claim it at
Franck Ribery's feet.
The Bavarians thought that they had
finally broken a deadlock on the 20-
minute mark. Kroos picked up
possession of the loose ball in
midfield, threaded it through for
Muller who tapped it across to
Mandzukic to tap into the empty net,
only to see their goal ruled out for an
offside flag against the Germany
international.
It was turning into one of those nights
for Bayern and soon enough they
were behind. Polyakov picked out
Aleksandr Volodko, who succed the
ball into Pavlov's path, and the 28-
year-old swept it home.
The visitors, riled up by falling behind,
returned with new vigour, and within
seconds they were almost level. Ribery
weaved a path down the left, crossed
it for Muller, whose header was
acrobatically clawed behind by
Gorbunov.
The resulting corner made its way to
Lahm, who managed to pick out
Mandzukic in the area, but the
Croatian's header was not directed
well, and Gorbunov was able make an
easy save.
The captain was at the fore again as
Bayern created one final chance of the
first half to equalise, sending in a low
cross to Mandzukic, who failed to
control the ball. It almost broke to
Muller, but the 23-year-old could not
get the ball out of his feet before a
challenge came in.
Within seconds of the restart,
Mandzukic found himself in space,
but could not manage to thread a ball
through to Ribery, and Volodko
signalled BATE's intent with an
ambitious effort which sailed high
over the bar.
A Kroos corner narrowly evaded the
head of Dante, and, collecting the
loose ball, Muller saw a viscious effort
promptly charged down.
The hosts were dropping further and
further back in an effort to quell the
constant Bayern attacks and, as the
visitors poured bodies forward, they
left themselves susceptible to
counterattacks.
On one occasion some masterful play
from Aliaksandr Hleb, who had
previously been quiet all night, played
in Edgar Olekhnovich, who forced a
superb save from Neuer with a
ferocious right-footed strike from the
edge of the area.
The former Barcelona man played in
Rodionov, who left Dante in his wake
with a superb first touch, but scewed
his shot wide when he should have
tested Neuer at the very least. Hleb
then presented Pavlov with an easy
opportunity to double the score, only
for the midfielder to sky his shot.
Time was running out for the
Germans to turn it around, and their
attacks were becoming increasingly
frantic. A Kroos free kick was cleared
as far as Shaqiri, who miscued a strike
wide with weaker right foot, before
the Swiss youngster failed to take a
Mandzukic knock-down under his
control.
With 12 minutes remaining, any
chances of a revival were dealt a
critical blow. Hleb was the archtecht
one more, playing in Rodionov , who
played a slick one-two with
Olekhnovich, before slamming the
ball past Neuer.
Once again, Bayern advanced. Shaqiri
tried to play in Muller, who couldn't
control the ball, which broke to
Claudio Pizarro, but the Peruvian's
shot was stopped on the line by
Gorbunov. Seconds later a corner
broke to Ribery, who darted into the
box before sending a left-footed
effort crashing onto the bar.
They finally managed to pull one back
in stoppage time when Ribery
superbly tucked home Shaqiri's
through ball, but it was too little too
late, but as they frantically searched
for an equaliser, they went further
behind.
Dmitri Mozolevski surged forward
down the left and squared the ball to
Renan Bressan, who tucked it home
to seal a famous victory for BATE.
