Robben's rocket stifles Fiorentina celebrations

(GETTY IMAGES)

A stunning strike from Arjen Robben fired Bayern Munich into the quarter-finals of the Champions League at the expense of an unlucky Fiorentina at a wet and windy Stadio Artemio Franchi last night.

The Germans, leading 2-1 from the first leg, were second best for long periods of the game and had looked to be on their way out of the competition when Juan Vargas and Stevan Jovetic scored the game's opening two goals to put the hosts ahead in the tie for the first time.

In the 28th minute Vargas pounced on a weak clearance from the Bayern goalkeeper Hans-Jörg Butt and found the net with an expert finish under pressure from a tight angle.

Jovetic, who scored both La Viola's goals to beat Liverpool 2-0 in September, fired home after 54 minutes, following a superb backheel from Alberto Gilardino, to put Fiorentina 2-0 up on the night, 3-2 ahead on aggregate.

However, Jovetic's strike sparked a manic 11-minute period during which four goals were scored and Bayern took an unlikely grip on the game. Mark van Bommel levelled the tie with a low drive on the hour only for Jovetic to score his second four minutes later. Gilardino again fed his fellow striker, this time with a header, and the young Montenegrin outmuscled Daniel van Buyten and forced home from close range.

That sparked wild celebrations from the home bench, but just 72 second later Robben, who had been well marshalled until that point, broke free of his markers to unleash an unstoppable 30-yard strike to make the score 4-4 on aggregate, Bayern going through on away goals.