Inter Milan is in trouble after 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich

Inter Milan, soccer’s reigning world, European and Italian champion, is teetering on the brink.

It was put in that precarious position in a Champions League match Wednesday night by Bayern Munich, and more specifically by Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar’s last-minute miscue and Bayern striker Mario Gomez’s opportunism.

With the final whistle moments away, Cesar spilled a fierce shot by Bayern winger Arjen Robben and Gomez was on hand to tap the rebound into the net, to the disbelief and disappointment of Inter fans at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium in Milan.

The 90th-minute goal gave Bayern Munich, which was beaten, 2-0, by Inter Milan in last season’s Champions League final in Madrid, a 1-0 victory and a tremendous edge heading into the second leg in Germany on March 15.

It was the same edge that Manchester United hoped to achieve when it played Olympique Marseille in France in the Champions League’s other round-of-16 match, but the defending French champion was too strong at the Stade Velodrome and United had to settle for a 0-0 tie.

On a night when goals were almost impossible to come by, one mistake made all the difference, but Leonardo, Inter Milan’s Brazilian coach, refused to blame his Brazilian goalkeeper.

“Julio Cesar has no need to apologize,” Leonardo said. “There were many chances in this game and it’s part of the sport. He parried it [Robben’s shot] and the goal could have come in other moves, just as we had opportunities to score.”

Indeed, both teams created a host of chances, with Bayern Munich outshooting Inter Milan, 18-13, and Inter having the edge in shots on target, 4-3. But it was Bayern that came closest to scoring, with Franck Ribery hitting the crossbar and Robben striking the post.

Gomez’s goal, in other words, was probably just reward for the German team’s enterprise on the road.

Not that Inter played a cautious game. It attacked in like manner, but what ultimately denied the Italian side were the goalkeeping heroics of Bayern Munich’s Thomas Kraft. The 22-year-old pulled off several top-drawer saves and afterward was praised by his coach, Louis Van Gaal.

“He showed his qualities, his great reflexes on the line,” Van Gaal said. “He stayed very calm during the game and that was important to us.”

The teams were evenly matched and the quality of play was a credit to both.

“It was an absorbing game and, in the end, we deserved to win,” Van Gaal said. “It was a big step toward the quarterfinals, but Inter is a very good team, as we saw today.”

Leonardo had another view.

“I think the defeat is unfair,” he said. “We played against a tough side that moved the ball with accuracy and attacked up the flanks, but we covered the spaces very well.”

Despite the loss, Inter Milan thinks it has the quality to overturn the deficit when it travels to Germany.

“It’s true that this loss is more disappointing because it came right at the end,” Leonardo said, “but it’s all wide open for me because we played on level terms tonight.”

Wesley Sneijder, Inter’s Dutch playmaker, echoed the belief.

“We all knew they had quality players, especially in attack,” he said. “We did well, we just lacked goals. In Munich, it will be difficult, but it’s not over.”

Neither is the series between Manchester United and Olympique Marseille. On paper, the French team has a possible edge because a scoring tie in England on March 15 will send it into the quarterfinals on the away-goals rule.

On the other hand, Manchester United will be in front of its own fans at Old Trafford and in all likelihood will adopt a far more positive and attack-minded approach than it did in Wednesday’s dour game.

“We got into some good positions at times, but it wasn’t enough,” said Manchester United Coach Alex Ferguson. “Nil-nil can be a dangerous score line if you lose a goal at home, but for us it’s about winning the game — if we win the game, we’re through. I think we’ve got a good chance.”

Olympique Marseille Coach Didier Deschamps, who captained France when it won the 1998 World Cup, pronounced himself satisfied with the 0-0 result.

“It was very important that we didn’t concede a goal, and we did that,” he said. “It was a tough, hard game.”

Champions League play resumes March 8, when the final 16 teams will start being trimmed to the eight quarterfinalists.

grahame.jones@latimes.com