Bayern Munich grabbed a dramatic away goals victory at Old Trafford thanks to a stunning goal from former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. Manchester United had looked set to maintain the record of England having at least one team present at the semi-final stage of the Champions league, which had stood since 2003, but Bayern's persistence enabled them to bring an end to this particular statistic and banish the memories of their heartbreaking Champions League final loss against United in 1999. It could have been so different, with United taking a shock 2-0 lead inside seven minutes, the first a powerful drive from midfielder Darron Gibson, his inaugural goal in a European game, and an exquisite flick from Nani, who reacted quickest to Valencia's inch-perfect cross. Nani netted his second and United's third in the 41st minute, with Valencia one-again the creator. Wayne Rooney was surprisingly restored to the United line-up despite sustaining an injury against Bayern the previous week, and he was a constant thorn in the side of Louis Van Gaal's team, however Bayern were able to grab what proved to be a priceless goal just two minutes before half-time, Ivica Olic taking advantage of poor defending by Michael Carrick to fire past Van Der Sar from a tight angle. Olic's goal changed the entire complexion of not only Van Gaal's half-time team talk, but also the game itself, as United, far from being assured victory and comfortably ahead by three goals, were just one goal away from defeat. Their task of defending such a slender lead became all the more difficult early in the second half when Rafael, United's inexperienced replacement for Gary Neville at right-back, and arguably United's best player prior to the interval, was given a second yellow card for cynically pulling back Franck Ribery. United defended resolutely following this blow, but the Bayern goal was inevitable, as the German giants enjoyed far superior possession than United for the remainder of the game. However when it finally came, on 74 minutes, it was anything but ordinary. Franck Ribery's corner evaded the players gathered in the six yard box, falling perfectly for Arjen Robben who was left unmarked to rifle in an excellent goal and win the game for Bayern. Dimitar Berbatov was brought on in the closing stages but he and United were unable to muster any meaningful chances. The result caps a miserable week for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, in which both the Premier League and Champions League trophies appeared to have slipped from their grasp, and the United boss was particularly irate after the final whistle, bemoaning tactics employed by Van Gaal's team to bring about Rafael's dismissal, commenting "they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee - typical Germans." With all four English sides absent from the semi-finals, does this mean that the dominance enjoyed by said clubs has truly ended, or is this nothing more than an anomaly, a strange interregnum in which luck transpired against the so-called 'Top Four'? Whatever the answer it has certainly been refreshing for the Champions League itself to have four teams representing four different nationalities in the semi-finals, in what should be a very interesting group of matches indeed.
Wednesday 7 April 2010
Bayern banish Barcelona memories after Robben a dramatic victory at Old Trafford
Bayern Munich grabbed a dramatic away goals victory at Old Trafford thanks to a stunning goal from former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. Manchester United had looked set to maintain the record of England having at least one team present at the semi-final stage of the Champions league, which had stood since 2003, but Bayern's persistence enabled them to bring an end to this particular statistic and banish the memories of their heartbreaking Champions League final loss against United in 1999. It could have been so different, with United taking a shock 2-0 lead inside seven minutes, the first a powerful drive from midfielder Darron Gibson, his inaugural goal in a European game, and an exquisite flick from Nani, who reacted quickest to Valencia's inch-perfect cross. Nani netted his second and United's third in the 41st minute, with Valencia one-again the creator. Wayne Rooney was surprisingly restored to the United line-up despite sustaining an injury against Bayern the previous week, and he was a constant thorn in the side of Louis Van Gaal's team, however Bayern were able to grab what proved to be a priceless goal just two minutes before half-time, Ivica Olic taking advantage of poor defending by Michael Carrick to fire past Van Der Sar from a tight angle. Olic's goal changed the entire complexion of not only Van Gaal's half-time team talk, but also the game itself, as United, far from being assured victory and comfortably ahead by three goals, were just one goal away from defeat. Their task of defending such a slender lead became all the more difficult early in the second half when Rafael, United's inexperienced replacement for Gary Neville at right-back, and arguably United's best player prior to the interval, was given a second yellow card for cynically pulling back Franck Ribery. United defended resolutely following this blow, but the Bayern goal was inevitable, as the German giants enjoyed far superior possession than United for the remainder of the game. However when it finally came, on 74 minutes, it was anything but ordinary. Franck Ribery's corner evaded the players gathered in the six yard box, falling perfectly for Arjen Robben who was left unmarked to rifle in an excellent goal and win the game for Bayern. Dimitar Berbatov was brought on in the closing stages but he and United were unable to muster any meaningful chances. The result caps a miserable week for Sir Alex Ferguson's side, in which both the Premier League and Champions League trophies appeared to have slipped from their grasp, and the United boss was particularly irate after the final whistle, bemoaning tactics employed by Van Gaal's team to bring about Rafael's dismissal, commenting "they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee - typical Germans." With all four English sides absent from the semi-finals, does this mean that the dominance enjoyed by said clubs has truly ended, or is this nothing more than an anomaly, a strange interregnum in which luck transpired against the so-called 'Top Four'? Whatever the answer it has certainly been refreshing for the Champions League itself to have four teams representing four different nationalities in the semi-finals, in what should be a very interesting group of matches indeed.
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