Bayern Munich took a big step towards a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League as Franck Ribery inspired them to a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting in the first leg of their last 16 tie in Portugal.
Sporting made history by reaching the knockout rounds for the first time, but will not recall this baptism fondly. “The feeling is one of frustration. It’s not normal to lose with this type of result in this phase of the Champions League” said Sporting manager Paulo Bento.
He added that Sporting had been the better team in the first half, but became “disorganised in the second half and let the more experienced and mature Bayern take control of the game”.
