Soccer-Bayern close perfect group stage with 2-0 win over Inter

(Reuters) -Bayern Munich completed a perfect group stage by beating fellow qualifiers Inter Milan 2-0 thanks to goals from Benjamin Pavard and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting in their final Group C game.

Bayern ended top on 18 points, eight ahead of second-placed Inter with both teams having already reached the knockout stage.

Barcelona finished third on seven points, eliminated in the group stage and having to settle for a Europa League place for the second year in a row.

With Bayern and Inter having nothing riding on the game, it was an affair that won't live long in the memory.

Having won their last six games in all competitions and with Group C top spot already secured, Bayern's Julian Nagelsmann rested several regulars and Inter were better at the beginning.

They pressed the hosts early and complained about a handball inside the area by a Bayern defender at the beginning of the first half but the referee, after checking the pitchside monitor, decided there was no infringement.

Inter could have scored first in the 27th minute if Lautaro Martinez had not missed a sitter. Robin Gosens made a great run down the left and delivered a perfect low cross to the Argentine who ballooned his close-range finish over an empty goal.

In the very next move, Pavard did score for Bayern with a header from a perfectly placed Joshua Kimmich corner.

Bayern took control but only extended their lead midway through the second half when Choupo-Moting drilled an unstoppable long-range strike into the top right corner.

The Cameroon striker has six goals and two assists in the last five games for Bayern in all competitions.