Victory for Bayern as Bremen Draw

Bayern Munich may have dealt a killer blow to Inter Milan's hopes of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League after beating the Italian champions 2-0 in the San Siro on Wednesday.

Meanwhile Werder Bremen may face a similar fate after allowing Barcelona to equalize in the last minute of their Champions League tie at the Weserstadion.

Goals in the last nine minutes from Peruvian international Claudio Pizarro and Lucas Podolski secured Bayern's second win in as many Group B matches and left Inter still looking for their first point.

The Serie A leaders also had Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Italy international Fabio Grosso sent off as they crashed to their second successive defeat, leaving them with a mountain to climb to reach the last 16.

Pizarro broke the deadlock nine minutes from time with a cool finish and a swift breakaway goal by substitute Podolski sealed Bayern's first win away to Italian opponents in European competition since the 1988-89 season.

Wednesday's match in Milan also saw the captains of both teams reach significant landmarks.

Stalwarts celebrate professional milestones

Inter's Argentine midfielder Javier Zanetti played in his 500th match for the club, while German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn made his 100th Champions League appearance for Bayern.

Kahn, Bayern's hero when they won the 2001 Champions League on penalties against Valencia, came to his side's rescue in the 12th minute. Inter's Serbian midfielder Dejan Stankovic stole possession from Pizarro before sweeping the ball wide to the left wing where

Ibrahimovic was prowling.

The giant Swedish international sped towards goal but allowed the ball to run too far ahead of him, and his feeble shot was blocked by the Bayern skipper.

Kahn's counterpart Julio Cesar saved Inter from falling behind in the 22nd minute. Dutch striker Roy Makaay escaped his marker and fired an angled shot that was heading for the corner of the net, but the Brazilian keeper's outstretched leg kept the hosts on level terms.

Bayern raise pace to seal late victory

Bayern started the second half brightly with Pizarro's head an inch away from applying the finishing touch to Philipp Lahm's left-wing cross.

Pizarro finally made the breakthrough in the 81st minute, clipping the ball past Julio Cesar after sneaking in unmarked behind the Inter defense to latch onto Roy Makaay's chipped pass.

Podolski netted his first goal for Bayern since his summer move from FC Cologne in the final minute to give the Bavarian giants a 2-0 win. The 21-year-old striker raced clear after an attempted back pass by Ivan Cordoba fell short before walking round Julio Cesar and slotting home.

In Bremen, Werder were denied a crucial win over the holders Barcelona when Argentine international Lionel Messi scored a vital late equalizer.

Argentine wunderkind breaks Bremen hearts

Barcelona looked to be heading for their first defeat in this competition for 18 months after their captain Carlos Puyol had scored a terrible own goal on 56 minutes.

But in the 89th minute, 19-year-old substitute Messi, on the pitch for just over 20 minutes, latched onto a fantastic pass from Portuguese international Deco to rifle in an equalizer.

Bremen, who lost 2-0 to Chelsea in their first match, have just one point to show for their efforts and could live to regret Messi's late intervention.

"We are all bitterly disappointed and should not allow that to happen -- particularly in the 89th minute," said Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese. "We did enough to win but Barcelona are a great team and can always create something. Messi took his goal brilliantly but the fact that it was so late on makes it even more painful."

Bremen, lying a disappointing ninth in the Bundesliga, were not intimidated by the champions of Europe and had a good opening early on with German international Torsten Frings shooting inches wide of the post after a mix-up in the Barcelona backline.

Off-color Barca snatch late parity

The game ebbed and flowed with the Spanish champions spreading the ball around with real panache but, while it was pleasing on the eye, the usual cutting edge was missing.

Cameroon international striker Samuel Eto'o spurned Barca's best, and only, real chance of a below-par first half with Wiese using his legs to block his goal bound shot.

At the start of the second half the Spanish visitors pushed on but Bremen took the lead in the 56th minute with Barcelona skipper Puyol putting through his own net.

Aaron Hunt crossed from the right and Spanish international Puyol got his clearance all wrong as the ball squirmed off his shin and past goalkeeper Victor Valdes.

Tim Borowski went centimeters from adding a second for the hosts ten minutes later with his shot flashing across Valdes' goal.

Bremen looked to have done enough for a historic win but then Messi popped up at the death to salvage a point for the holders.