Football: Champions League - Bayern vs Inter

Only one team in the history of the Champions League had progressed to the next round after losing the 1st leg of a knockout tie at home - until last night, when Leonardo's Inter Milan made it two. Ironically, the only manager to have achieved the feat beforehand was Louis van Gaal with Ajax. Now van Gaal can also say he has been on the receiving end of a remarkable European-night-turnaround.

Despite Inter Milan being the holders after their battling surge to glory last season, Bayern came into the game as rock-solid favourites and looking to avenge their Bernabeu-based final defeat last May - not an indication of Bayern's strength, but of how Inter have become weaker and the fact Bayern took a 1-0 lead plus away goal into the match.

Possibly the greatest asset of the game of football is how quickly things can change. The scarlet-glowing Allianz Arena looked resplendent as ever, the buzz of Weißbier-fuelled anticipation amongst the 66,000 Bayern-mad fans was tangible and then, quick as a flash and suspiciously offside, Samuel Eto'o flattened the mood instantly.

But, typically loyal and boisterous, the Bayern faithful roared their team on to chance after chance at the other end, with, again typically, Arjen Robben and Franck Ribery at the heart of everything dazzling as they searched for goals. Cue mood-swing number two as Mario Gomez, his hair these days making him look like something out of The Munsters, delicately, brilliantly and creatively lobbed Julio Cesar with his back to goal after the Inter goalkeeper had fumbled a Robben shot.

The hullaballoo that follows a Bayern goal at the Allianz Arena is something quite unique. The instantaneous, elated yelling of the fans as the ball hits the net is followed by a small snipet of a strange song over the tannoy and then the bellowed words: 'TOR FÜR DEN FC BAYERN MÜNCHEN' which are a pre-cursor to the minute of the goal and then the number of the player who scored the goal being announced. The game has usually kicked-off again by the time the first name of the scorer is screamed over the tannoy, inviting the fans to roar his surname back, a process that is repeated twice more.

It is a post-goal routine that is now ingrained into the tradition of the club, and the fans absolutely love it. Its main role is to maintain the momentum amongst players and fans, and it certainly worked for the remainder of the first half. Robben and Ribery continued to link up swiftly and deliciously, their initial work resulting in another defensive error to allow Thomas Müller in on goal before he cooly dinked the ball over Cesar. The elation in the stands and the confidence of victory and progression cranked up a notch.

Yet if I learnt anything from last night's match, it is never to write off an Inter Milan team as long as they have Samuel Eto'o, Wesley Sneijder and Esteban Cambiasso on the pitch. Yes, Inter's defensive frailties are apparent and they lack the tempo that was so prevalent during the last campaign, but Cambiasso harrassed and harried the Bayern players tirelessly, an unattractive role within football that is too often overlooked, Sneijder picked out some passes of genuine genius and Eto'o continually threatened and, indeed, set up both goals for Sneijder and Goran Pandev to break Bayern hearts.

Bayern craved revenge so much it came back to haunt them, and it will surely haunt Louis van Gaal for the rest of his life that he failed to provide the greatest of German clubs with a further trophy before he leaves at the end of the season.