BAYERN Munich answered its critics with a comprehensive 5-1 rout of Arsenal in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (UCL) clash to move a step closer to the quarterfinals Wednesday.

    In the night’s other first-leg match, Real Madrid rallied from a goal down to beat Napoli 3-1 in Spain.

    Thiago Alcantara struck twice in a superb performance, and Arjen Robben, Robert Lewandowski and substitute Thomas Mueller scored the other goals.

    The return match is March 7, when Bayern will be a hot favorite to advance.

    “It’s a very, very good position,” Bayern captain Philipp Lahm said with a smile. “It should do.”

    Arsenal, which lost captain Laurent Koscielny to injury early in the second half, appears set to exit in the Round of 16 for the seventh season in a row.

    “The real problems came after the third goal, because we lost our organization and looked really jaded,” Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger said. “The last 25 minutes was like a nightmare for us because we had no response.”

    Bayern extended its winning run at home in the competition to 16 games with a repeat of the score from the last time the sides met in November 2015.

    “It’s only one game,” Bayern coach Carlo Ancelotti said, playing down the significance of the win. “It’s not the final, unfortunately.”

    But Ancelotti will be relieved his side showed what it is capable of after five unconvincing games since the winter break, when Bayern faced criticism for looking tired and lacking the dominance it displayed at the start of the season.

    Meanwhile, Real Madrid players kept their cool despite conceding a stunning early goal, producing an outstanding performance that kept the defending champions on track for a seventh straight appearance in the quarterfinals.

    Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos and Casemiro all scored after Lorenzo Insigne’s extraordinary goal for Napoli less than 10 minutes into the match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

    The Italian forward struck an unexpected shot from way outside the area, catching Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas out of position. But the visitors couldn’t hold on to their lead against a Madrid team that delivered one of its best performances for weeks.

    “We played a great game,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “It was a shame about the Napoli goal, but we recovered, scored ourselves and turned the game around.”

    “I’m happy with the result,” Zidane added, already looking ahead to the return match March 7. “We’ll go there to a difficult ground where we’ll suffer. It’s still an open game. We need to go there and finish it off.”

    Playing in the last 16 for only the second time, Napoli was one game short of equaling its unbeaten record of 19 matches in all competitions. (SD-Agencies)