Manchester United 3-2 Bayern Munich (Agg. 4-4): Arjen Robben The Hero Again As Bavarians Clinch Another Away Goals Win
The Dutchman's left foot strike sees Bayern into the last four and leaves England without a semi-finalist for the first time in seven years.
TEAMS
* Bayern Munich
* Man Utd.
Bayern Munich's Arjen Robben followed up his fireworks in Florence with a crucial strike at Old Trafford which knocked 10-man Manchester United out of the Champions League on away goals.
United had taken a seemingly unassailable 3-0 first half lead thanks to Darron Gibson and a Nani brace, but Ivica Olic gave the Germans hope before Robben sealed the deal after Rafael had been sent off early in the second half.
The major team news was the inclusion of Wayne Rooney in the home XI, just eight days after limping off with an ankle injury in the first leg at the Allianz Arena. Gibson was also handed a start for United, whilst Robben was back for Bayern.
As in the first leg, United got off to a flying start. Rooney peeled off to lay a neat pass into the path of Gibson, who had left Bastian Schweinsteiger in his wake and, with Martin Demichelis backpedalling, belted a right foot shot in at the near post, leaving Hans-Joerg Butt floundering.
It was an early stunner which roused the Old Trafford crowd even more than the news of Rooney’s inclusion had managed.
And it was to only get better for United. Seven minutes in, Luis Antonio Valencia caused Holger Badstuber all sorts of problems with countless dummies, before pushing the ball onto his right and whipping a low cross in which was behind the advancing Nani, but the Portuguese wonderfully readjusted to send a no-look right foot flick inside the far post to send the home side 3-2 up on aggregate.
Butt very nearly granted the English side an easy third on 12 minutes when he played Demichelis’ easy back-pass straight to Michael Carrick, but the midfielder checked back before sending a left foot effort easily wide.
The first booking of the game was earned by Rafael when he brought down Bayern skipper Mark van Bommel as the Dutchman attempted to make his way around the Brazilian, who was lying prone on the ground.
Within 20 minutes the almost inevitable happened, as Wayne Rooney seemed to jar his injured right ankle, causing him to spend the next few minutes limping around up front, having little effect on the game. Dimitar Berbatov also began warming up as the crowd held its collective breath, clearly distracted by the concern over their centre forward.
Bayern had held the ball for increasingly long periods, but whilst Schweinsteiger’s speculative effort from 30 yards was the best shot they could muster, their effect on the game was growing after the early double blow.
Valencia broke free for United as they began to hit the visitors on the counter, but his heavy touch allowed Demichelis to get in a challenge.
After Carrick went down with a head knock, Rooney checked in with the bench to inform them that he felt ok and was willing to run off his injury as he began to move slightly more freely.
Rafael had a great chance to send United into a three-goal lead when he flew clear on the right hand side, but having failed to keep the ball under control he then got caught in two minds and fired neither a cross nor a shot, instead whipping an effort wide of the target but ahead of his breaking team-mates.
Bayern forced a magnificent chance to equalise on 39 minutes when Thomas Mueller put Ivica Olic clear on the left, but Edwin van der Sar threw his body on the line to block the striker's effort and the ball deflected off Nani’s hand to relative safety.
And within two minutes, United had further breathing space. Valencia once again got in behind Badstuber before squaring for Rooney, but when the England man missed the ball it ran for Nani, who finished clinically, planting a shot high into the roof of the Bayern net.
With the tie seemingly all but over, it suddenly took a dramatic turn within 120 seconds when Mueller’s flick-on saw Olic outmuscle Carrick with ease and deliver a cool left foot finish under Van der Sar and into the far corner.
It was just the boost FC Hollywood needed after conceding what had looked like a killer third, quickly putting themselves back into the game in a similar fashion to their comeback in Florence in the previous round.
And they were so nearly ahead on away goals in first half injury-time when Robben dummied two men, cut inside and unleashed a stinging left foot shot from 25 yards, which Van der Sar did brilliantly to palm away. From the resulting corner Daniel van Buyten’s shot was blocked as United began to live on their nerve ends.
Louis van Gaal made a change at half-time as he looked to get his side on the front foot more, introducing Mario Gomez for Thomas Mueller.
Bayern’s more forward-thinking line-up saw the likes of Ribery and Robben getting on the ball more, and when the Frenchman went on a rampaging run in the 50th minute, Rafael foolishly pulled him back, earning himself a second yellow card. The Brazilian’s long, slow walk to the tunnel bore all the hallmarks of a man who knew he’d put his side on the back foot.
Rafael's red was the turning point
But United weren’t about to give up the ascendency, and after Badstuber was fouled for bringing down Valencia, Butt dealt badly with the free kick and was forced to tip over when Nani tried to lob the loose ball over his head.
Sir Alex Ferguson then took off the still-struggling Rooney, replacing him with John O’Shea in a bid to bolster the defence against the extra man. As he left the pitch, the England striker refused medical treatment to remain on the bench, intent on watching his side’s battle to the bitter end.
FCB were almost ahead in the tie moments later. Robben cut in to cross left footed, and when the ball was nodded down, Ribery sent in a sizzling left foot volley from 20 yards which Van der Sar blocked.
Bayern were now knocking at the door, with United leaving just Nani up front as they clung on for dear life in the face of 30 frantic minutes to come.
The Portuguese was given a glorious opportunity to make it 4-1. He was sent clear down the left to go one-on-one with Butt, but as he tried to pull the ball back onto his right foot, he got a weak shot away under the pressure of Bayern’s desperate cover, and Butt was allowed to save. From the corner, Carrick blazed over from 12 yards.
At the other end, Philipp Lahm’s wonderful right wing cross was flicked just onto the top of the crossbar by Mario Gomez, with Van der Sar beaten. Robben then went on a dazzling run down the right, but couldn’t get the ball onto his favoured left and wasted the chance to get a cross in.
Ribery then had a shot held by Van der Sar, whilst Gibson’s similar effort at the other end was smothered by Butt as the game’s pattern of Bayern possession and United counter continued.
Finally the Bayern domination bore fruit, and there were no prizes for predicting the goalscorer. Ribery’s deep, lofted cross from the left found Robben in space, and the Dutchman had the time and the cool head to fire a controlled left foot volley low into Van der Sar’s far corner from just outside the area.
The hero of the hour was immediately withdrawn to protect the injury which had kept him out of the first leg in Munich and replaced by Hamit Altintop.
United responded by replacing Carrick with Berbatov, hoping that the Bulgarian would repay some of his huge transfer outlay, and introducing Ryan Giggs for Gibson.
Though the Red Devils needed a goal, Bayern’s 11 men were doing a good job of keeping the ball away from the home side’s 10. Valencia just overdid a through-ball towards Berbatov as the home side continued in their attempts to break down the visiting back line.
But it was all to be in vain, as Nani flashed a shot across goal as United’s last chance of rescuing the fixture fizzled out and Bayern progressed to play Lyon in the semi-finals on April 21 and 27.
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