Rampant Bayern hit five past Anderlecht

BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Bayern Munich virtually made sure of their place in the UEFA Cup quarterfinals with a 5-0 demolition of Belgian side Anderlecht in the first leg of their last 16 tie on Thursday.

The German giants were in front after just nine minutes when Turkish international Hamit Altintop found the target with a superb 30-meter drive.

The night got more comfortable for Bayern, who were missing rested goalkeeper Oliver Kahn as well as the injured Lucio and Ze Roberto, when Anderlecht's Polish defender Marcin Wasilewski was sent off for a foul on Luca Toni on the stroke of half-time.

Italian international striker Toni added the second goal for Bayern in first half injury time before Lukas Podolski made it 3-0 in the 57th minute.

Miroslav Klose, who came on as a half-time substitute, put away the fourth goal in the 67th minute from a pass from fellow-replacement Frank Ribery.

French midfielder Ribery completed the scoring with a 20-meter free-kick four minutes from the end as Bayern celebrated their first win in five European visits to Anderlecht.

"I'm very happy," said Ribery. "It's always special to score a free-kick like that.

"It was a good match for us. We are the favorites for the UEFA Cup and I really believe that if we play all of our matches as seriously as this one then we can do it."

Meanwhile, another Bundesliga side, Werder Bremen, have a lot of work to do if they are to reach the last eight of the competition following their 2-0 defeat at Glasgow Rangers.

Rangers took the lead on the stroke of half-time in stunning style. Goalkeeper Tim Wiese managed to get both hands to the ball but Daniel Cousin's sublime, 30-meter shot was packed with so much power that the Bremen custodian succeeded only in helping the ball drift over his head and into the net.

The home side added their second goal just two minutes after the interval. Steve Davis started the move when he released Cousin out on the right flank and the striker's angled drive was parried by Wiese.

However, the keeper was left with no chance when midfielder Davis followed up to rifle home the rebound from just five meters out. E-mail to a friend