UEFA Champions League: FC Basel, Marseille Net Miracle Winners

Similar to the way they defeated Manchester United at St-Jakob's Park in the group stages, FC Basel defended well, kept their shape and hit on the counter to defeat Bayern Munich in the Round of 16 on Wednesday. The Swiss champions are taking a 1-0 lead to the Allianz Arena, thanks to a late winner by substitute Valentin Stocker.

The first half was a wild one, and both teams should have scored multiple goals. Incredibly, they went into the break tied 0-0, thanks to some great goalkeeping and some bad luck for the attacking players on both sides. Aleksandar Dragovic had a16th minute header cleared off the line by Holger Badstuber, while Marco Streller struck the crossbar in the 29th minute. Franck Ribery had multiple chances for Bayern, but Yann Sommer came up big in the first half with multiple saves on the Frenchman.

Perhaps both managers adjusted their tactics in the locker room, because the second half was considerably more open. Things probably changed for the worse for Bayern in the 71st minute, when Thomas Müller came on for Ribery. He looked like he was limping as he came off, and an injury would be the only explanation for Ribery's substitution. He was the best player on the pitch by some distance.

Basel's winner came on a counter attack in the 86th minute, with two substitutes combining. Jacques Zoua, who entered for a tired Xherdan Shaqiri just three minutes earlier, set up the goal with a great run and through ball into the box. Rafinha completely lost track of Stocker, who took a touch before putting a left-footed finish between the legs of Manuel Neuer.

Bayern will be favored to win at home, but no matter the score, they will have to do it by multiple goals to avoid extra time. Because Bayern did not score an own goal, Basel will go through with any one-goal loss in which they score.

Marseille dealt yet another blow to Claudio Raineiri's Inter Milan, striking with an incredibly late goal to earn a 1-0 win at the Stade Velodrome. The hosts probably deserved their victory, but it was a dull match, featuring long spells of Marseille possession but little penetration as inter seemed happy to play for a 0-0 draw. The visitors came out of their shell only when they could poke the ball forward to Diego Forlan without committing too many bodies to the attack, and although they came close a couple of times they never looked as though they were going to break their long scoreless streak.

Ninety minutes in, it seemed as though Inter had got the draw they were playing for, despite continual pressure from Marseille. The visitors had defended well all evening, refusing to allow the Ligue Un team much of a sniff at Julio Cesar's goal, but in the 92nd minute Andre Ayew forced the veteran keeper into a good save then nodded the resultant corner into the back of the net. It was virtually the last kick of the game, and it condemned Inter to yet another loss. Marseille know that they can advance now - an away goal at the San Siro will see them in very good stead to get to the quarterfinals.

FC Basel and Bayern Munich have put on a show in the first half at St-Jakob's Park by creating all kinds of chances, but they have somehow gone into the break tied 0-0. Both teams have had plenty of chances to score that they haven't been able to take, and though something like 2-2 might have been the score that best reflected what happened on the pitch, a draw is a fair reflection of what's happened so far.

Basel have stuck with their normal 4-4-2 formation, and they haven't been at a disadvantage in the center at all. Granit Xhaka and Benjamin Huggel look like they're a three-man midfield with their spectacular position and tackling, and though Bayern have created some chances with crosses and long shots, they haven't been able to find a way through Basel's central midfielders.

Franck Ribery had a golden opportunity to give his team the lead in the third minute when he found himself one-on-one with Yann Sommer, but he somehow put his shot right into the keeper's body. Though it was impossible to tell at the time, this was a bit of foreshadowing for what was going to transpire throughout the half.

Basel stunned Bayern by creating a few golden opportunities early in the half. Fabian Frei appeared to have a penalty shout early when Rafinha made contact with him in the box, but no foul was given. In the 9th minute, Xherdan Shaqiri found himself in front of goal with what looked like an easy finish, but Jerome Boateng cleared at the last minute.

Bayern would need an incredible goal line clearance in the 16th minute to keep a clean sheet. After a corner kick that Marco Streller forced Manuel Neuer to concede with a shot on target, Shaqiri put a wonderful cross into the box. Aleksandar Dragovic rose up to meet it and put a header on target, which Neuer pushed onto his near post. The ball bounced off the post and along the goal like until Holger Badstuber made a miracle clearance for the Bavarians.

Three minutes later, following a fantastic run and pass by left back Park Joo-Ho, Streller hit the crossbar from 12 yards out. That would be the last of the clear-cut chances for Basel, as Bayern would look like the better side for the remainder of the first half.

Sommer was forced into a few saves late in the half. In the 29th minute, Alexander Frei gave the ball away in a bad area, leading to a Bayern counter. They set up David Alaba for a shot from 20-yards and he hit a nasty knuckleball that moved on Sommer at the last second. He moved late, but was able to adjust enough to keep the ball out of the net. Seven minutes later, he barely got across his goal to deny Ribery on a hard, low shot

The teams combined for 14 shots and seven on target in the first half, and it's incredible that there haven't been any goals so far.

Inter Milan are looking to continue the Serie A revolution in making it three strong games from three in the Champions League knockout stages. The Premier League has already been outscored 7-1, and now Inter are taking on Ligue Un opponents Marseille. They'll try to do so with a combination of Diego Forlan and Mauro Zarate, but the nerazzurri are not Milan or Napoli and they might just struggle against Marseille - although their opponents, missing Loic Remy, are hardly in the best of shape either.

Marseille starting lineup (4-2-3-1): Steve Mandanda; Jeremy Morel, Nicolas N'Koulou, Souleymane Diawara, Cesar Azpilicueta; Alou Diarra, Benoit Cheyrou; Andre Ayew, Mathieu Valbuena, Morgan Amalfitano; Brandao.

Substitutes from: Gennaro Bracigiliano, Djimi Traore, Rod Fanni, Jean-Phillipe Sabo, Charles Kabore, Andre-Pierre Gignac.

Inter Milan starting lineup (4-3-1-2): Julio Cesar; Christian Chivu, Walter Samuel, Lucio, Maicon; Javier Xanetti, Esteban Cambiasso, Dejan Stankovic; Wesley Sneijder; Mauro Zarate, Diego Forlan.

Substitutes from: Luca Castellazzi, Andrea Ranocchia, Yuto Nagatomo, Andrea Poli, Joel Obi, Giampaolo Pazzini, Diego Milito.

The teams are in for the first leg of the UEFA Champions League round fo 16 tie between Bayern Munich and FC Basel and despite it not being any surprise, the absence of Bastian Schweinsteiger is still a bit of a shock when you see the Bayern lineup and his name is not in there. He never had a chance to play due to injury, but looking at the team without him, it is a team that Basel can beat to continue their Cinderella run of their that has already gone through Manchester United.

FC Basel: Yann Sommer, Park Joo-Ho, Aleksander Dragovic, David Abraham, Markus Steinhofer, Benjamin Huggel, Xherdan Shaqiri, Fabian Frei, Granit Xhaka, Marco Streller, Alexander Frei

Substitutes: Massimo Colomba, Philipp Degen, Radoslav Kovac, Valentin Stocker, Cabral, Stephan Andrist, Jacques Zoua

Bayern Munich: Manuel Neuer, Rafinha, Jerome Boateng, Philipp Lahm, Holger Badstuber, Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, David Alaba, Toni Kroos, Anatoliy Tymoshchuk, Mario Gomez

Substitutes: Hans-Jorg Butt, Danijel Pranjic, Luiz Gustavo, Can, Nils Petersen, Ivica Olic, Thomas Mueller