the bavarian giants are two games away from a home final after a pair of first-half goals from ivica olić wrapped up a comfortable last-eight triumph.
two first-half goals from ivica olić ensured fc bayern münchen sailed into the uefa champions league semi-finals after a second-leg victory against olympique de marseille.
the croatian forward, given a rare start in place of mario gomez, converted crosses from either flank to complete a 4-0 aggregate win that takes bayern one step closer to a dream home final on 19 may. marseille rarely troubled the german side, but bow out with heads held high having reached the quarter-finals for the first time since winning the competition in 1993.
despite their healthy first-leg advantage, bayern delivered on their promise to "play as if it were 1-1" and soon issued a warning shot as toni kroos fired over following a smart interchange. om, eager to dent their hosts' confidence, were also lively and tested manuel neuer through loïc remy and jérémy morel early on. yet their uphill task became steeper still when olić struck the opener 13 minutes in, converting franck ribéry's cross following the frenchman's trademark run down the right.
having received a frosty reception upon his return to the south of france a week ago, ribéry had a point to prove on home turf and constantly probed the marseille defence. neuer saved spectacularly from stéphane mbia at the other end, but it was opposite number steve mandanda who endured far the busier half. the om captain made two stops in quick succession to deny kroos and then anatoliy tymoshchuk, before thwarting olić at close quarters and scooping thomas müller's header over the bar.
there were only so many efforts mandanda could keep out and the 27-year-old was left mopping his brow with relief when a rasping strike from kroos smacked the post with the goalkeeper at full stretch. when mandanda was beaten again there was no second escape as olić doubled his and bayern's tally on 37 minutes, tucking in david alaba's low left-wing centre at the near post.
with bayern cruising, the match lost some of its impetus following the restart, though the home side remained on the front foot, ribéry's ceaseless energy deprived the visiting defence of a moment's respite. as the rain began to stream into the stadium, marseille's night was summed up as benoît cheyrou delivered an inviting cross for brandão, who headed over in space at the far post.
that chance was borne of some improved possession from didier deschamps' side, but it was as good as it got for the visitors even if mathieu valbuena almost caught out neuer with a miscued cross from the left. olić was given a standing ovation by the capacity munich crowd and, though his replacement gomez failed to add to his 11-goal tally this season, the bayern fans were already rubbing their hands at the prospect of welcoming either real madrid cf or apoel fc in the last four on 17 april.
