Bayern bite back through Van Buyten

AC Milan 2 Bayern Munich 2: Daniel van Buyten never did this at Manchester City. With a compelling evening set to be overshadowed by a dreadful penalty decision by the Russian referee Yuri Baskakov, which enabled Kaka to give Milan an 85th-minute lead, the big Belgian scored with an injury-time volley that gives Bayern Munich an away-goals advantage ahead of next week's second leg in Bavaria.

Van Buyten had already scored one equaliser, just six minutes before Kaka tumbled over a clean challenge from Lucio and prompted referee Baskakov to point to the spot. It was a fear of such an intervention that made the Munich manager Ottmar Hitzfeld go public with his concerns about the referee before kick-off.

Kaka restored the advantage Milan had received from Andrea Pirlo just before half-time and though it turned out to be an entertaining game, Alex Ferguson's representatives will have left optimistic that if they can get past Roma, Manchester United can get past either of these sides.

San Siro boomed at full intensity before kick-off. Any trepidation felt by the Germans at the suspensions to Oliver Kahn - for failing to provide the required urine test after the defeat of Real Madrid in the last round - and to Mark van Bommel should have been enhanced by the noise cascading down from the towering stands. No wonder Milan had won 15 of their previous 18 Champions League ties here.

The Milan manager Carlo Ancelotti had demanded that his side push forward from the start. And had Clarence Seedorf managed to get a touch on a third-minute inswinging cross from Marek Jankulovski, Ancelotti's hopes would have been granted, but Seedorf failed by inches.

But for some 20 minutes Milan were becalmed. As Owen Hargreaves and Andreas Ottl established a presence in midfield the crowd's cheers turned to raucous jeers. There was outright hostility toward Alberto Gilardino, who was either misplacing passes or being robbed by the excellent Lucio. Ottl even forced a save from Dida.

In the 40th minute it looked as though Pirlo had messed up a short corner, feigning a dummy with no one behind him to shoot. Oddo collected possession 25 yards out and floated a speculative cross back to where the ball came from. Pirlo had continued his dummy run and met the cross with a header that looped over Michael Rensing. Bayern's defenders claimed hopefully for offside but Pirlo was clearly on.

Rensing, for once, may have been flatfooted on the goal. He cannot have been expecting a long-range header from Pirlo, but Bayern could not afford to be caught out again if the tie was not to get away from them.

That meant another gruelling 45 minutes was needed from Hargreaves and Ottl, and put the onus on the visiting front two, Lukas Podolski and Roy Makaay, to present an outlet in attack. Neither of them was offering enough, particularly not Podolski.

Things looked ominous for the visitors when Massimo Ambrosini broke down the left nine minutes into the second half and only Kaka's peculiar inability to make contact with the cross, when unmarked four yards out, kept the score at 1-0. A minute earlier Gilardino had at last put the ball in the net but only after he was ruled offside. The striker was booked for his actions, meaning he will be unavailable for the return. Fortunately, Inzaghi had already started warming up.

Sure enough, Inzaghi duly replaced Gilardino but it was at the time that Bayern were beginning to push. Only a retrieving tackle by Alessandro Nesta ended a Makaay breakaway and after a series of German corners, Van Buyten poked in the equaliser.

Hasan Salihamidzic started the move, his centre from the right being met by the willing substitute - for Podolski - Claudio Pizarro. The ball fell to Van Buyten and the big centre half kept his head to steer the ball beyond Dida with a left foot. The drama was not over; the referee ensured that.

Guardian Service

AC MILAN: Dida, Oddo, Nesta, Maldini, Jankulovski (Kaladze 87), Gattuso, Pirlo, Ambrosini, Seedorf (Gourcuff 85), Kaka, Gilardino (Inzaghi 71). Subs not used: Kalac, Cafu, Bonera, Brocchi. Booked: Gilardino.

BAYERN MUNICH: Rensing, Sagnol (Lell 67), Lucio, Van Buyten, Lahm, Salihamidzic, Hargreaves, Ottl, Schweinsteiger, Makaay (Santa Cruz 86), Podolski (Pizarro 68). Subs not used: Dreher, Scholl, Gorlitz, Demichelis. Booked: Salihamidzic, Van Buyten.

Referee: Yuri Baskakov (Russia).