Inter defeat adds to Italian misery, United held

Mario Gomez' last minute goal yesterday saw Inter join city rivals AC Milan and AS Roma in succumbing to home reverses in their Last 16 first leg ties and in real danger of seeing not one representative from Serie A in the last eight in a competition they once dominated.

By contrast England could well have four of the last eight as Manchester United were held 0-0 away at French champions and France's only ever winners of the tournament
Marseille in an instantly forgettable encounter.

However, the result appeared to please both coaches, Marseille's young handler Didier Deschamps - who guided Monaco to a surprise final spot in 2004 - and United's legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who has two Champions League trophies to his credit.

Inter suffered from a lack of attacking options with Samuel Eto'o their sole specialist striker - but even so Gomez' late winner could well have knocked the stuffing out of the Italian champions.

However, Inter coach Leonardo refused to accept that the defeat meant he had to change their tactics radically for the return leg in Munich.

"Of course it's a bad defeat but the only thing that changes is your mood, it doesn't change the game in Munich where we'll go and try to win," said Leonardo, who has engineered a revival in Inter's form since he replaced Rafael Benitez in late December.

"Nothing is compromised. It's hard to lose in the last minute but we played well."
Gomez, who has been outstanding in all competitions for Bayern this season after a disappointing start to his career there, said his goal was rich reward for Bayern's positive approach to the game.

"That was certainly my most important goal in the Champions League," he said.

"When you score a goal just before the end, which seals an away win, that is, of course, very nice.

"We fought for everything, everything at the back, everything up front and we were rewarded at the end."