Bayern slips by Fiorentina on away goals

Soccer Betting Lines

03/09/2010 - Florence, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arjen Robben's brilliant goal in the 65th minute capped a stretch of four combined goals in 11 minutes, as Bayern Munich slipped into the quarterfinals of the Champions League despite a 3-2 defeat at Fiorentina on Tuesday.

Stevan Jovetic scored two goals and Juan Vargas added one to put Fiorentina in position to advance to the last eight on three occasions, but Mark van Bommel scored Bayern's first and Robben added the deciding away goal.

Bayern won the first leg 2-1 in Munich, and although the final aggregate ended 4-4, advanced because of its two away goals at Stadio Artemio Franchi.

Arsenal joined Bayern in the quarterfinals with a 5-0 win over FC Porto at the Emirates to overcome a first-leg deficit and advance on aggregate 6-2.

Fiorentina didn't look like a club that had lost seven of its last nine in all competitions, and in the process ended Bayern's 18-game unbeaten streak in all events but still failed to advance.

Fiorentina's Vargas decided to try and test Bayern goalie Hans-Jorg Butt from 35 yards on the first chance for either side, but his free kick just cleared the bar and dropped into the top of the net with the goal covered.

Vargas delivered on his next chance in the 27th when he battled Bayern central defender Daniel van Buyten to win a rebound on the left edge of the six-yard box and fired inside the far post from a tight angle.

Bastian Schweinsteiger helped create the first of two good chances for Bayern when he was able to head the ball through traffic to Robben on the right side of the area. Robben only had Fiorentina goalie Sebastien Frey to beat, but the French star made a great save to tip the ball wide in the 34th.

Miroslav Klose, who replaced an injured Mario Gomez in the 30th minute, had the second shot just seconds before half when he ran onto a cross from Thomas Muller but, despite getting under the ball, headed over from 10 yards.

Fiorentina was handed another great chance five minutes into the second half, but Butt made his biggest save of the match. Alberto Gilardino ran onto a ball on the top of the six that magically rolled by two Bayern defenders but didn't finish from just yards out as Butt deflected the ball wide.

Jovetic didn't waste Fiorentina's next chance, finishing off a back heel from Gilardino to pick out the bottom corner in the 54th to open the scoring streak that included two goals for each club.

Van Bommel unleashed a world-class strike from 20 yards that skimmed just off the inside the left post in the 60th, putting the series level at three goals apiece and even on away goals at one apiece. Jovetic followed in the 64th off another Gilardino assist to hand his side the series lead once again, only to watch Robben equalize shortly after the restart.

Robben delivered another world-class strike just over a minute later, when he sent a left-footed shot from 28 yards over the outstretched arms of a diving Frey and into the upper-left corner to send Bayern through to the final eight for the second straight season.

Fiorentina has not advanced to the last eight since the 1969-70 European event when it lost to Celtic in the quarterfinals.

In London, Nicklas Bendtner scored a hat trick as Arsenal rolled into the last eight over Porto.

Bendtner scored his first two goals in the ninth and 25 minutes, and after two goals from Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue in the second half, finished his hat trick from the penalty spot in extra time.

Arsenal, which dropped the first leg in Portugal 2-1, advanced despite playing without Cesc Fabregas. The Gunners are in the last eight for the third time in a row, and for the fourth time in the last five tournaments.

Porto was eliminated in the knockout stage by and English club for the third time in the last four tournaments.

On Wednesday, Real Madrid will try to overcome a 1-0 defeat in the first leg when Lyon visits the Bernabeu, and Manchester United will try to hold onto its 3-2 edge when AC Milan visits Old Trafford.

Inter Milan visits Chelsea, CSKA visits Sevilla, Stuttgart visits Barcelona, and Olympiacos visits Bordeaux next week to wrap up the Round of 16.

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Best Horse Betting Online

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.