Bayern Munich survived the dismissal of Xabi Alonso to come away with a goalless draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash with Shakhtar Donetsk this evening.
© Getty Images
The visitors dominated from the start and Thomas Muller came close to giving them the lead when he was slid through by Arjen Robben, before dragging a low shot across the face of goal.
It took until the midway point of the first half for Shakhtar to have their first attempt on goal, but Yaroslav Rakitskiy's free kick was comfortably saved by Manuel Neuer.
On the half-hour mark Muller had another decent opening for Bayern after being found by Franck Ribery, but he could only direct his effort over.
Ribery had Bayern's last attempt of the first half with a strike that sailed over the bar, as the two teams headed into the break on level terms.
© AFP
The second half began in the same pattern as the first 45 minutes, with both teams struggling to create any clear-cut chances.
However, the visitors suffered a blow in the 65th minute when Alonso was sent off for picking up his second booking of the match for a foul on Alex Teixeira.
Despite their numerical disadvantage, Bayern continued to dominate possession and they were able to see the game out without any problems to take a draw back to Germany.
Alex Meyers
