[UCL] Bayern Munich 2 Manchester United 1 ; German advantage
-
Bayern Munich 2 Manchester United 1: Late sting from Ivica Olic gives Germans advantage as Wayne Rooney limps off
So much for living the dream. This ended with a nightmare in widescreen for Sir Alex Ferguson.
To his right, the sight of Ivica Olic doing to Manchester United what his team once did to Bayern Munich; while to his left the sight of Wayne Rooney writhing in agony and clutching his ankle with what looked like a nasty injury.
For Ferguson the World Cup would not have been the concern. That is England’s problem and what a problem it could be.
Late sting: Ivica Olic strikes in stoppage time to complete Bayern's comeback
But for United’s manager there is Chelsea this weekend and what now promises to be a difficult second leg against a Bayern side that were rather better than most of us anticipated.
‘We are not level one,’ declared Louis van Gaal during the build-up. It would seem he was telling a bit of a fib.
Only if these two teams meet in another Champions League final will Bayern ever feel they can avenge the events of Barcelona 11 years ago.
Early doors: Rooney strikes United's opening goal on 64 seconds to volley past Bayern goalkeeper Butt
But last night would have gone some way to healing those scars, the manner in which Van Gaal’s team seized the advantage in this tie hurting United as much as an apparently accidental stamp by Mario Gomez seemed to hurt Rooney. There was a sense of inevitability about both events here last night.
Just as a small group of Italians at the FA and the entire English nation have been living in fear of an injury to the remarkable Rooney, so United would have been fearful of a stoppage-time winner.
In this case not an effort from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but Bayern’s Ivica Olic, after 91 minutes and 57 seconds. Bayern will say there was one crucial difference, however. That on this occasion the best team won. In 1999 United were every inch a team snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
Rib blow: Ribery's free-kick deflects off of Rooney to net Bayern's late equaliser
Last night, though, Bayern always looked the better side, apart from a difficult opening spell.
Ferguson described United as ‘average’ during a brief half-time interview and average they most certainly were — their failure to build on Rooney’s opening goal something that will disappoint them enormously.
They were nothing like their usual selves, an inability to retain possession proving a real problem and one that Bayern were only too happy to take advantage of. Not even a subtle change in tactics by Ferguson provided a solution.
Even after dragging Paul Scholes back into a more defensive role and pushing Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick forward, they still struggled to keep the ball.
It enabled players like Franck Ribery and Hamit Altintop to pose a constant threat down the flanks and through the middle.
Pain for Wayne: Rooney causes concern after going down with an ankle injury
Ribery might not have been fully fit but he was a ubiquitous presence, inspired no doubt by Ferguson’s assertion that he is not in the class of Rooney and Lionel Messi.
Had it not been for the heroics of Edwin van der Sar, the margin of victory could have been considerably more. Van der Sar was outstanding, sparing the blushes of his defensive colleagues time after time.
And yet United started so well. With Arjen Robben confined to the stands and a bloke dressed like Batman momentarily unable to serve and protect, Rooney continued his remarkable season last night by scoring what remains a potentially significant away goal.
Worrying sight: Wayne Rooney leaves the Allianz Arena on crutches
It was one of the less spectular of Rooney’s 34 goals, the brilliant young striker taking full advantage of the masked Martin Demichelis’s sudden inability to remain on his feet by driving home a deflected free-kick from Nani.
For Bayern it certainly came as a surprise. Fearful, no doubt, of a late United goal after what happened at the Nou Camp in 1999, they may not have expected to suffer such a setback so early on this occasion.
Rooney struck not in the last minute but very nearly the first, his goal coming after just 64 seconds.
Van Gaal wasn’t telling lies after all. Robben might not have been injured but the poor lad’s muscles were so tired he did not even make it onto the bench, leaving the Germans without their best player.
His presence in the directors’ box proved all the more painful when Rooney struck after little more than a minute, the United forward meeting a delivery from Nani that spun off Mark van Bommel with a volley he put into the roof of the Bayern net.
Ferguson said in his pre-match interview that he would prefer a goal to a clean sheet and this amounted to the perfect start, so precious are away goals in this competition.
But Robben’s absence does mean Bayern could be even stronger come next Wednesday and that will worry Ferguson.
MATCH STATS
BAYERN MUNICH (4-4-2): Butt; Lahm, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Badstuber; Hamit Altintop (Klose 86min),
Van Bommel, Pranjic (Tymoschuk 89), Ribery; Muller (Gomez 73), Olic.
Booked: Badstuber, Olic.MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-2-1):
Van der Sar; Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Fletcher, Carrick (Valencia 70), Scholes; Nani (Giggs 82), Park (Berbatov 70); Rooney.
Booked: Neville, Scholes, Rooney.Man of the match: Edwin van der Sar.
Referee: Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium).
United had their chances to extend the lead. Nani squandered one excellent opportunity after a delightful one-two with Fletcher, while Rooney forced a fine save from Hans-Jorg Butt and Nemanja Vidic sent a thumping header against the crossbar in the 83rd minute.
But when Bayern were awarded a free-kick in the 77th minute Ribery unleashed a shot that flew through the United wall and past Van der Sar via Rooney’s backside.
Worse, of course, would follow for Rooney and United. Seconds after that collision with Gomez, Olic seized on a moment’s hesitation
by Patrice Evra and burst towards goal. First he accelerated past United’s left back and then Rio Ferdinand, before driving a left-foot finish past Van der Sar.
For United it was a first defeat in 18 on their European travels, but one even Ferguson conceded was richly deserved.
-
Player Ratings: Bayern Munich 2-1 Manchester United
United started like a house on fire, but it was Bayern who left happy thanks to Olic's late winner.
Champions League: Bayern Munich - Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, Daniel vanBAYERN MUNICH
Butt: 6 – Left hopelessly exposed by his back four on Rooney’s early goal, but was often leaden-footed on the few occasions he was called upon as United failed to truly test him thereafter.
Lahm: 6.5 – Provided a great influence on the ball, but went missing at times off it. Kept Park quiet enough to earn an above-average mark.
Van Buyten: 6 – Provided a much greater presence up against Rooney than his centre-half partner, but that’s not saying much. He’ll have been disappointed by the number of opportunities afforded to the England centre-forward.
Demichelis: 4.5 – Suffered a nightmare start by giving away a free kick in 12 seconds and then slipping as the resulting set piece came in to hand Rooney a tap-in. Gifted the striker another opportunity when he misjudged a regulation cross before the break. Improved during the second half, albeit slightly.
Badstuber: 6.5 – Fed Ribery to fine effect and made things difficult for Nani at times, but failed to stop the Portuguese getting in crosses too often. Looked more than comfortable on the ball as Bayern took over in the second half.
Altintop: 6.5 – Got into some great positions in the first half, but scuffed one effort and was too slow to react to another. The second period brought his best chance of the lot, but Van der Sar kept it out. A goal would have capped an influential showing.
Van Bommel: 7 – Did his usual job of battling away in the midfield, whilst showing himself once again to be a more than capable player on the ball. He was the main reason why Bayern were able to put their foot down in the second period.
Pranjic: 6.5 – Kept things ticking over well, moving the ball about with comfort, but without providing any vital moments. Did well to keep a rein on the likes of Scholes and Carrick though.
Ribery: 7 – Not at his best, but still caused United problems. Whenever he got into crossing positions he had the away side in a panic and some of his neat balls when cutting inside created half-chances for FCB. He has scored much better free kick goals than the one which brought the scores level.
Mueller: 6 – Looked out of place at times as a centre-forward at this level, but contributed to a couple of chances for Altintop and Olic, which they may have made more of on another night.
Olic: 7.5 – Looked Bayern’s most likely goal threat for long spells, though he could have reacted a touch quicker when Altintop’s effort just escaped his attention. More than deserved his late winner.
Subs:
Gomez: 6.5 – Provided a greater presence up front alongside Olic, allowing the Croatian more leeway up against Ferdinand and Vidic.
Klose: NA – Given only five minutes to impress.
Tymoshchuk: NA – Late replacement.
MANCHESTER UNITED
Van der Sar: 7 – Kept very busy for the most part, and was forced into a couple of excellent stops, but Bayern will have been disappointed not to have really stretched him more.
Neville: 6 – Dealt reasonably well with Ribery, but when the Frenchman really took him on he looked short for pace.
Ferdinand: 6 – Really struggled up against Olic on the ground and will be looking for a much better showing at Old Trafford if United are to turn the tie around.
Vidic: 6 – Almost stole a winner when his bullet header struck the bar, but was conspicuous by his absence as Olic side-footed home at the end.
Evra: 5 – Gave the ball away at regular intervals as United struggled to get a foothold during the second half. Also failed to get close to Altintop often enough, meaning the wide man had a number of good opportunities.
Nani: 6 – Provided a couple of telling crosses early on, most notably assisting Rooney’s opener. But his influence was felt less as Bayern took over and he was substituted for Giggs late on.
Fletcher: 6 – One of United’s better midfielders, but they lost out quite heavily in the second half in particular. His excellent cross should have been turned home by Rooney for 2-0.
Carrick: 5.5 – Didn’t get on top in midfield, as shown by the possession statistics, and by the amount of running he was left to do. Replaced by Valencia.
Scholes: 6 – The typical Paul Scholes performance, littered with endeavour, commitment and shocking tackles. Caught on the ball too often for the liking of United supporters.
Park: 5.5 – The Korean started well but quickly faded, trying his best to get involved in the high-tempo midfield battle, but too often losing possession.
Rooney: 7 – Scored a simple opener and caused the two centre-halves all kinds of problems, but missed a couple of chances he’s become known for burying. Couldn’t do anything about the deflection which gave Bayern an equaliser. His injury will be a greater concern to Sir Alex than Olic’s winner.
Subs:
Valencia: 5.5 – No effect after being brought on for Carrick to stretch the German defence.
Berbatov: 5.5 – Brought on for Park, but did nothing memorable as United subsided under Bayern pressure.
Giggs: NA – Late replacement for Nani.
-
Cannot really blame united, but can tell that they were trying to save for the chelsea match though
-
look kinda serious for rooney. bayern didnt play well at all in first half. second half was better. bayern realli dun look like a top club for me.For a home team they play realli realli bad
-
crunch time for man u
-
so Man U got lucky again..................as usual............must be the gods feeling guilty over the Munich air crash eh ?
-
Originally posted by DemonFox:
look kinda serious for rooney. bayern didnt play well at all in first half. second half was better. bayern realli dun look like a top club for me.For a home team they play realli realli bad
are you watching the same match?even united fans on another forum all agreed they deserved that scoreline.
bayern dominated united.
-
i watch the whole game in first half their performance is realli bad. second half they did better but they didnt realli threathen man u defense onli for the last few momment they have 1 or 2 good chances beside that their passing is veri poor. bayern dun have many clear cut chances did u watch the game? or did u just read forum? tat game mostly ard midfield where both team give away ball too cheaply.
-
still.. they are ahead 1 goal .
n thats good.
-
rooney injury is another mind game play by fergie
-
Originally posted by cheesiong:
rooney injury is another mind game play by fergie
That is precisely what Man Utd fans are all praying for
-
German where got advantage, as long as Man U score, then can win with away goal liao mah. Make sure BM dun score can liao lor.
-
thanks to the best right back for united and england, decided to intervene by playing handball at the edge of the penalty area. when I saw the replay for the handball by gary, I was so disgusted that such an experienced old fart would use his hand needlessly to touch/hand the ball, esp at a dangerous area. does he really need to use his hand, as he has completed misjudged the flight of the ball? so what if he miss it and the ball rolled behind him? were there any bayern player behind gary?
-
Late United defeat adds insult to injury
Manchester United could play as many as 60 games this season, but in less than 10 seconds on Tuesday night, the Red Devils took two potentially knock-out blows that may jeopardise their trophy hopes at home and abroad.
United went into the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Bayern as one of the favourites to go all the way, all the while back home, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League.
Things looked even rosier 64 seconds in at the Allianz Arena when Wayne Rooney volleyed United ahead on the night. But almost immediately, things began to unravel for the champions, culminating in a potentially season-defining phase of play that left Rooney in a heap and Bayern scarcely able to believe their luck.
On the night, United got what they deserved; a beating. Whether the early goal affected their approach to the remaining 92 minutes, we will never know for certain. But after going 1-0 up, they were second best in almost every department.
Sir Alex Ferguson knew United were off the pace and possibly lucky to be ahead. However, he still sensed an opportunity to get the killer second goal. The United manager's instincts rarely let him down, but this one did.
Throwing on Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia was brave, but ultimately costly. United were already struggling to win the midfield battle, so taking Michael Carrick out of the equation thereby leaving Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher exposed served only to encourage Bayern.
Ferguson twisted when really he should have stuck. The gamble simply didn't pay off and though the two goals came from individual mistakes, United's tactics and approach to the last half-hour must take it's share of the blame for the defeat.
A draw away from home in the first leg with the bonus of an away goal would have been a more-than-acceptable result given the under-par performance. Instead, with United constantly relinquishing possession, Ferguson's changes opened up the game, playing directly into the hands of Bayern.
Next week's second leg at Old Trafford will suit the Germans, who know they can afford to sit back and wait to hit the hosts with the pace of Franck Ribery and the returning Arjen Robben.
Sadly for United, Ivica Olic's winning goal could hamper their Premier League push as much as it does their quest for glory on the continent.
Just seconds before Patrice Evra's mental block that allowed Olic the freedom of the penalty box to score, Rooney, unsuccessfully chasing back to help out the overloaded midfield, turned his ankle.
It's difficult to know what Ferguson regards as the biggest blow: giving away a potentially crucial second goal, or the loss of the most vital cog in the United wheel.
The Red Devils are no one-man band, but in an attacking sense they are not far from it. Rooney's injury leaves United desperately short in an area they were already thin on numbers and inspiration.
I will be absolutely stunned if Rooney is fit for the return leg against Bayern next week. In fact, though admittedly I am no doctor, I'll be surprised if he is fit for the derby at Eastlands on April 17. While any diagnosis of an ankle sprain may come as a relief to Fabio Capello, the kind Rooney probably sustained in the Allianz Arena could well see him sidelined for three or four weeks, maybe more.
Berbatov may well seize the responsibility to prove to the many doubters that he can handle the weight of expectation at Old Trafford. But the fact the Bulgarian has rarely started for United in their biggest games this season suggests that even Ferguson is unconvinced.
While he would never admit it, the manager will likely be horrified to find United relying solely on the Bulgarian and teenager Federico Macheda, himself only recently back from a lengthy spell in the treatment room.
Ryan Giggs' return from a broken arm comes as timely boost, and the veteran is likely to become a pivotal figure during the run-in, starting against Chelsea on Saturday, but even the Welsh wizard's influence cannot compensate for the absence of a red-hot Rooney.
Put simply, with Rooney in the team, you would always fancy United to overturn a 2-1 deficit at Old Trafford. Without him however, it's undeniably a different story.
-
Fletch still confident
Darren Fletcher was disappointed United surrendered a lead to lose to Bayern Munich, but insists the English champions can turn the tie around at home.
Franck Ribery’s free kick and Ivica Olic’s late strike cancelled out Wayne Rooney’s second minute opener, but with an away goal under the Reds' belt, Fletcher feels the team can go on to reach the Champions League semi-finals.
“It's not insurmountable,” said Fletcher. “Although we’re disappointed to have lost two late goals, 2-1 isn’t the worst result in the world. We now know what we have to do at home.
“We certainly respected Bayern before this match and we’ve still got great respect for them. They’re a very good side. You don’t play any bad sides in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. We’ve learned a lot about Bayern and about ourselves tonight and we’ll take all that into the match at Old Trafford next Wednesday.”
The Scot knew Bayern would present a tough challenge so was not surprised by the German club's performance.
“The Bayern midfielders pressed the ball quite quickly and got numbers behind the ball. It was difficult in there but you expect that when you go away from home in Europe. We knew Bayern would have a lot of possession and we’ll be looking to do the same next week. We’re confident against anyone at Old Trafford.
"We know what to expect from Bayern Munich and we’ll be ready for their challenge.”Darren Fletcher was speaking to ManUtd.com's Nick Coppack in Munich.
-
first choice right back for england is glen i thought?
-
suay sia
rooney tio ankle inj
would miss e match vs chelsea -
injury is part and parcel of the game. arsenal also suay, with van persie out for the season so early in the season in November last year. united BPL and CL title ambitions must have suffered a mortal blow, a huge body blow in fact.
-
Originally posted by Rooney9:
injury is part and parcel of the game. arsenal also suay, with van persie out for the season so early in the season in November last year. united BPL and CL title ambitions must have suffered a mortal blow, a huge body blow in fact.
yep, MU lost 80% of their potency in front of goals.
Bayern's coach said it best, Rooney 30+ goals, rest 10+, berba 11. Enought said.
Given the tight title run in and the UCL disadvantage, we need rooney @ 120% not 20%. Nevertheless, I feel he should take a good rest, cause it is like the 12 injuries to his legs in his rather short career.
this month is the make or break mth for MU, so let's see when the dust settles end april. My money on SAF, the old, wily fox.