LONDON, England (Reuters) – Bayern Munich put one foot in the Champions League semi-finals with a 2-0 win at Olympique Marseille and holders Barcelona edged closer after a 0-0 draw at AC Milan yesterday. Barca dominated possession at the San Siro and had a number of chances but Milan, eyeing away goals in the last-eight second leg at the Nou Camp next Tuesday, missed equally good opportunities through Robinho and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Lionel Messi’s spectacular run of goal-scoring came to an end amid resolute Milan defending as Barca, who had a good penalty appeal turned down, failed to score for the first time in the Champions League this season.
Striker Mario Gomez put Bayern ahead just before the break when his first-time shot fooled reserve goalkeeper Elinton Andrade and Arjen Robben added the second on 69 minutes.
Marseille’s Stephan Mbia was lucky to stay on the field for a forearm smash on Gomez and the French side, wilting domestically, will have to be even more fortunate to turn the tie around in Munich next week.
Real Madrid triumphed 3-0 at APOEL Nicosia and Chelsea won 1-0 at Benfica in Tuesday’s quarter-final first legs.