Bayern geared to take on Juventus

Thomas Woods

• Last Updated: November 26. 2009 9:12PM UAE / November 26. 2009 5:12PM GMT

Two giants of European football – Juventus and Bayern Munich – will meet in a winner-takes-all match in Turin in two weeks time with the loser being eliminated from the Champions League.

Two second-half goals helped the French champions Bordeaux win Group A with a 2-0 home win over Juventus on Wednesday night, leaving the Italian side on eight points in second place.

Just a point behind are Bayern, who beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 at home through a second-half Ivica Olic strike. It means the Germans can qualify for the second round with victory at the Stadio Olimpico – any other results and Ciro Ferrara’s Juventus will go through.

“Our fate is still in our hands. We didn’t play a good game tonight but that doesn’t ruin our chances to qualify,” Ferrara said. “Juventus are strong enough to beat Bayern at home and to go through. It won’t be easy but we can do it.”

Bordeaux snatched a fourth consecutive win in the Champions League through goals by midfielders Fernando and stri-ker Marouane Chamakh.

“I am very happy and very proud of my team. We were well prepared and each player sacrificed himself for his teammates,” Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc said.

Typical of their campaign, Bayern laboured against a well-organised but toothless Maccabi team and produced a less than convincing performance.

“It was a very important game for us. I hope we can now do it in Turin,” Olic said. “The pressure is still there but the win is good for our confidence.”

Besides being without Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben – both out with long-term injuries – Bayern were also missing strikers Luca Toni and Miroslav Klose. Toni has been fined €25,000 (Dh137,000) for an interview in which he said his relationship with manager Louis van Gaal was finished and that he wanted to return to Italy.

* With agencies