Fiorentina v Bayern Munich – as it happened

Good evening everybody. Bayern Munich arrive at the Artemio Frannchi stadium protecting a 2-1 first leg lead they scarcely deserve. Aggrieved Italian footballers aren't generally thin on the ground, but Fiorentina had every right to get the hump after Miroslav Klose's winner was allowed last month, despite the German striker plumbing new depths of offside . Fiorentina have never reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League before and if they are to break their duck tonight, they'll have to do so without suspended striker Adrian Mutu and defender Massimo Gobbi. Bayern have conspicuous absentees of their own, with centre-half Martin Demichelis out with a broken jaw sustained on international duty with Argentina against Germany last week, while left-back Diego Contento has also been ruled out with a knee injury. Franck Ribery is also a doubt, but on a more positive note, injury-prone Dutch striker Arjen Robben is expected to line up for the Bundesliga leaders after Lemsipping away the sniffles that forced him to miss Bayern's set-to with Cologne over the weekend. "We ought to enjoy what we've done so far and try to give our best in a match which could make history for this club," said Fiorentina coach Cesare Prandelli, whose side remain resolutely mid-table in this year's Serie A campaign . "We have a great chance, so we shouldn't think too much about our current physical and mental condition. We feel positive because we played well against Juventus on Saturday, and we proved we could create problems for Bayern in the first leg. We know we're facing one of the strongest teams in Europe, and have to read the game well. We must take to the pitch knowing we're not in a rush to score a goal, because Bayern are very strong and we can't give them space. We've kept conceding goals in recent games and it's time to stop." With the tie poised on the proverbial knife-edge, Bayern Munich coach Louis van Gaal has been making the kind of non-commital noises you'd expect. "It's difficult to say why Fiorentina have been less strong in their championship than in the Champions League, but Fiorentina have always looked very strong in Europe and I think they will also play very well," he declared, before philosophically on the possibility that his side might exit the tournament tonight. "I hope to do well in this game even though I know it won't be easy," he said. "If the match goes badly then I'll remain calm, because losing is part of the game." Fiorentina: Frey, Felipe, Kroldrup, Natali, De Silvestri, Zanetti, Montolivo, Vargas, Jovetic, Marchionni, Gilardino. Subs: Avramov, Donadel, Pasqual, Santana, Comotto, Bolatti, Keirrison. Bayern Munich: Butt, Alaba, Badstuber, Van Buyten, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Van Bommel, Ribery, Robben, Gomez, Muller. Subs: Rensing, Altintop, Olic, Gorlitz, Klose, Pranjic, Tymoschuk. Referee: Alberto Undiano Mallenco (Spain) How they're likely to line up: According to the snazzy Uefa graphic, both sides are likely to set up shop with a pair of defensive midfielders shielding their respective back fours: Cristiano Zanetti an Riccardo Montelivo for Fiorentina and Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mark van Bommel for Bayern Munich. Juan Vargas and Marco Marchionni will be on the flanks for the Italian side, with Alberto Gilardino playing alone up front. For Bayern, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben will be on the left and right wings, pinging balls into lone striker Mario Gomez. Not long now: It's a bitterly cold, windy night in the home of the renaissance, writes minute-by-minute reporter from King's Cross bunker as the teams traipse out of the tunnel and line up for the fancy Champions League music. Fioerntina are wearing their usual home kit of all purple, while Bayern Munich are playing in all white. An email: "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't win at the Sports Journalists Awards last night," writes Colin Greer. "Considering this, will you looking to take your MBMing to another level for 2010? Are you taking any suggestions as to how you might up your game?" I don't need any suggestions, thanks. The only thing I need to do to ensure victory at next year's awards is to ensure that the two people who finished ahead of me last night meet with a grisly end. 1 min: Game on. Bayern Munich are playing into a very strong wind, but immediately go on the offensive, ensuring that Fiorentina goalkeeper Sebastien Frey gets an early touch. 2 min: Over on the right touchline, just inside the Fiorentina half, Arjen Robben gets tripped by Felipe and goes down very theatrically, before rolling around clutching his shin. It's good to see he's still a big girl's blouse. The kind of tomfoolery for which the name Arjen Robben has long been a byword got Fiorentina's first-choice left-back Massimo Gobbi sent off in the first leg of this match. 4 min: Pardon me for harping on about it, but the wind does seem to be very strong in Florence tonight. The ball is hanging in the air any time it's hoofed long. 5 min: Fiorentina win a free-kick about a third of the way inside the Bayern half. With the wind at his back, Juan Vargas tries his luck from about 50 yards, but his effort sails high and wide of Hans Jorg Butt's goal. 7 min: "Is this your punishment for all those anti-English rants of the past?" asks Rob in Düsseldorf. "Forced to comment on a game involving those odious bavarians who cheat and scrape their way to so many wins, against Fior.. zzzzzzzz. Italian football - insomniacs everywhere rejoice. We'll I will support you through the ordeal as I have several Bayern supporting mates over here who I'd love to wind up after an embarrassing defeat to a mid-table nothing side. My interest level for this match is unhealthy and surprisingly high. Just for interest, look out for Van Bommel and see if you agree with me that he's the most dirty underhand, fouling little toe-rag to have ever come out of Holland." 9 min: Interesting fact: Bayern Munich's left-back David Alaba is only 17 years old, but has already been capped by Austria. He also has very curly hair. 10 min: Play stops as Thomas Muller and Per Kroldrup clash heads while contesting a high ball. Neither is particularly badly hurt. 11 min: This has been very scrappy so far. The strong wind - did I mention that? - is making it very difficult for anyone to play football properly. 13 min: Lorenzo De Silvestri tries to play a ball through the centre for Alberto Gilardino to chase, but the wind carries it straight through to Butt in the Bayern goal. 14 min: Arjen Robben bursts through the right channel with the ball on his right foot, then pulls it back in the hope that a team-mate might be able to unleash a shot. He fails to pick anyone out and Fiorentina clear. 16 min: Fiorentina suffer from more official blundering when a Juan Vargas cross from the left is handled by Daniel van Buyten in the Bayern Munich penalty area. The lank-haired centre-half stuck out his right arm and leg to prevent the cross from making its way across the face of goal and definitely hit it with his hand. That should have been a penalty. 18 min: Fiorentina midfielder Stevan Jovetic gallops down the right flank chasing a pass from midfield, but succeeds only in conceding a throw-in. 19 min: Franck Ribery plays the ball to Thomas Muller on the edge of the final third, but the German forward is penned into the corner by defenders Lorenzo De Silvestri and Per Kroldrup and loose posession. This is pretty grim fare. 20 min: Another handball in the Bayern Munich penalty area goes unnoticed by the referee. This time it's Franck Ribery who was the guilty party, although this one wasn't quite as blatant as Van Buyten's a couple of minutes ago. 22 min: Bayern probe down the right wing, with Van Bommel and Schweinsteiger controlling the possession as they stroke the ball around on the edge of the final third. 23 min: Should Bayern make it through to the quarter-finals, Bastian Schweinsteiger will be suspended for the first leg. With the ball at his feet, he repelled the challenge of Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo with a hand-off in the face. Acceptable in rugby union, but a straight red card in football, surely? 25 min: Bayern Munich are comfortably on top at this stage, controlling possession, albeit without creating anything in the way of goalscoring chances. GOAL! Fiorentina 1-0 Bayern Munich (Vargas 27) (Agg: 2-2) Fiorentina take the lead on the night and on aggregate with an opener that was unsurprisingly wind-assisted. In the Bayern goal, Butt could only parry a long-range Marchionni effort out to right-hand side of the six-yard box, where Vargas was following up and did well to slot the ball home from a narrow angle under pressure from Van Buyten. That's awful goalkeeping - Fiorentina are ahead on away goals. 30 min: Bayern Munich substitution: Mario Gomez hobbles off injured and is replaced by Miroslav Klose. 32 min: "Are either of these teams capable of winning this thing?" asks Kyle Karinen. "I ask because I'm contemplating which MBM to follow and while waiting for the inevitable 'Hulk smash' pun is amusing to a point, I rather think either of these teams would be stronger candidates than Porto or Arsenal. (I note the presence of Mr. Bendtner in the starting XI over yonder as Exhibit A to my case.)" Well Kyle, my suggestion is that you go nuts and follow both minute-by-minute reports. Young Master Bendtner might surprise you! 32 min: Arjen Robben misses an absolute sitter. From about 30 yards out, Schweinsteiger headed the ball into the Fiorentina penalty area and it somehow managed to evade several defenders before sitting up kindly for Robben, who only had to pick his spot and smash it past Sebastien Frey from seven or eight yards. He ended up bringing a marvellous reflex save from the keeper, before sinking to his knees burying his head in his hands. That was an excellent save, but a dreadful miss. Robben should have given Frey no chance. 36 min: "Bendtner ... blind squirrel ... nut ... every so often," writes Kyle Karinen. 36 min: Although I missed the incident, Sky commentator Ian Darke and his excellent co-commentator Tony Gale have mentioned a third incident of hand-ball in the Bayern Munich penalty area. They're not sure whether it should have been a spot-kick, but I did hear a huge appeal from the fans behind the goal. 39 min: Fiorentina centre-half Per Kroldrup gets booked, somewhat harshly, for what looked like a perfectly fair block tackle on Bastian Schweinsteiger. 40 min: Fiorentina win a free-kick on the halfway line, when David Alaba up-ends Juan Vargas. Several Fiorentina players mill around the referee appealing for him to book the young full-back, but he waves them all away contemptuously. He's right too - nobody likes a grass. 43 min: With a magnificent first touch, Fiorentina right winger Marco Marchionni controls a long ball from midfield, before slicing his attempted cross horribly wide. He shakes his head, grins to himself and raises an arm by way of apology to his team-mates who were queuing up in the penalty area. 44 min: That's a great cross from the right-wing by - I think - Arjen Robben. Waiting in the centre, Klose is first to the ball after stooping and getting across his marker. His glancing header flashes over the bar. Half-time The referee blows for half-time and Fiorentina go in for their orange segments with the most slender of advantages. As things stand, Bayern Munich are going out of the competition, but they almost always score away from home in this competition and will be playing with a very strong wind in their backs in the second half. Fiorentina, incidentally, have conceded at least one goal in each of their last 17 games. 46 min: The second half starts, with Fiorentina playing against the hurricane. There are no changes on either side. 46 min: From the right flank, Marchionni tries to drill a low ball across the face of the Bayern Munich goal. With Gilardino lurking, it's put out for a corner by a defender. From the ensuing inswinger, Bayern clear. 48 min: Fiorentina attack again, with Zanetti playing a through-ball to the edge of the final third for the goalscorer Juan Vargas to chase. The Peruvian is first to the ball but ends up being shepherded left by his marker. He tries a shot from distance but his left-footed drive is high and wide. 49 min: That's an awful miss by Gilardino. Both Bayern centre-backs failed to intercept a cross from the left and the ball finds it's way to Gilardino in acres of space, with only Butt to beat from the edge of the six-yard box. He seemed surprised to find himself in possession with so much room and got the ball caught under his feet. Eventually, he digs it out and shoots straight at Butt. 52 min: Bayern have what looked a half-decent penalty shout turned down when Muller is challenged in the box after picking up a cross from the left from Robben. He stayed on his feet, which probably didn't help his cause. If he'd been crossing to Robben, you can be sure the gravity would have kicked in. GOAL! Fiorentina 2-0 Bayern Munich (Jovetic) (Agg3-2) That's a wonderful goal by Fiorentina. As a low, diagonal cross from the right came fizzing into the penalty area, Gilardino stopped the ball dead with a marvellous touch with his heel, teeing it up for Stevan Jovetic to smash home from about 10 yards. 57 min: Bayern Munich go close with a free-kick from about 40 yards. Montelivo conceded the free-kick with a foul on Van Bommel, and Mirooslav Klose was only this much away from getting on the end of Arjen Robben's free-kick. GOAL! Fiorentina 2-1 Bayern Munich (Van Bommel 59) (Agg: 3-3) Despite being double- or triple-marked by Fiorentina, Franck Ribery still manages to play a lovely cross into his skipper Mark van Bommel, who passes the ball between Sebastien Frey's outstretched arm and the left upright from about 20 yards out. If it stays like this there'll be extra-time. 62 min: After being teed up by a good pass from David Alaba, Franck Ribery tries his luck from distance. His wind-assisted surface-to-air missile screams a couple of yards over the bar. GOAL! Fiorentina 3-2 Bayern Munich 2 (Jovetic)(Agg: 4-3) Fiorentina go ahead again as Stefan Jovetic brushes his marker Mark van Buyten to one side to get on the end of an excellent Gilardino nod-down and poke the ball past Butt. GOAL! Fiorentina 3-2 Bayern Munich (Robben 64) (Agg: 4-4) Our minute-by-minute tool (the computer doohicky, as opposed to me) picks the perfect moment to go on the blink as Arjen Robben gives Bayern Munich the upper hand in a pulsating tie within 70 seconds of the re-start. He picked up the ball about 35 yards out, noticed Fiorentina's defenders standing off him, cut inside and rifled a shot past Frey into the top left-hand corner. 68 min: Apologies for the delays there, but it's genuinely a technical problem. Our minute-by-minute tool (the computer doohicky, as opposed to me) keeps freezing, so it's taking a while to publish some tracts of text. Fiorentina need to score again or they're out, as they're currently trailing on away goals. 71 min: In sensational Premier League news, Sunderland are beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 and look in grave danger of winning their match since November. You can catch all tonight's live scores here . 73 min: Bayern win a free-kick about 40 yards from the Fiorentina goal, right of centre. Robben clips the ball into the mixer, but it's headed well clear by Cesare Natali. 74 min: Zanetti tries a pot-shot from distance but his effort is high and wide. "I hated Florence," writes Thuram Thugood. "It's like Barnsley but more touristy." 75 min: Gilardino latches on to a defence-splitting through-ball and slots it past Hans Jorg Butt into the bottom left-hand corner. His excellent finish is correctly ruled out for offside. 79 min: Fiorentina left-back Felipe gets booked for an off-the-ball block on Robben, earning Bayern a free-kick wide on the right. 80 min: Robben curls the free-kick into the penalty area, but puts it too close to the goalkeeper who, under no pressure whatsoever, elects to punch clear instead of making the straightforward catch. His clearance is woeful, but he gets away with it. 82 min: The beautiful city of Florence is coming in for a lot of stick here. "I hated Florence as well," writes Niall Mullen. "And will even more if their football team doesn't hold out for my accumulator-fulfilling win." 83 min: Fiorentina substitution I forgot to mention a couple of minutes ago: Felipe off, Manuel Pasqual on. More recent Fiorentina substitution: Vargas off, Keirrison on. 84 min: Fiorentina go close-ish as Pasqual squares the ball from the left, only for none of his team-mates to be up in support. Moments later, Bayern go close, but Klose once again fails to get on the end of a curled left-foot cross from Robben. The word close/Klose appeared far too often in that sentence. 85 min: Mark Van Bommel gets booked for a high tackle on Riccardo Montolivo. That was a nasty one - a set of studs into the knee. 87 min: We're into injury-time and Fiorentina need a goal, desperately. I've spent the last five minutes paralysed with shock having heard that Darren Bent has scored a hat-trick for Sunderland. A hat-trick! For Sunderland! 90+1 min: Bayern Munich win a throw-in deep in Fiorentina territory which Philippe Lahm is no hurry to take. 90+2 min: Free-kick for Fiorentina, just outside their own penalty area. Sebastien Frey launches the ball up the field, but the ball is headed straight back towards him. 90+3 min Peep! Peep! Peep! It's all over. Fiorentina win a pulsating match 3-2 on the night, but go out of the tournament on away goals after drawing 4-4 on aggregate. They were 1-0 up, 2-1 up and 3-1 up - all scorelines that would have put the Viola through to the last eight, but who better than Fritz to qualify at their expense by the most slender of margins?