Source: Daily_Mail
Bayern Munich 2 Man United 1: Late sting from Ivica Olic
[LNB]So much for living the dream. This ended with a nightmare in widescreen for Sir Alex Ferguson.[LNB][LNB]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.[LNB]For Ferguson the World Cup would not have been the concern. That is England's problem and what a problem it could be.[LNB] Late sting: Ivica Olic strikes in stoppage time to complete Bayern's comeback[LNB]But for United's manager there is Chelsea this weekend and what nowpromises to be a difficult second leg against a Bayern side that wererather better than most of us anticipated.[LNB]'We are not level one,' declared Louis van Gaal during the build-up. It would seem he was telling a bit of a fib.[LNB]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.[LNB] Early doors: Rooney strikes United's opening goal on 64 seconds to volley past Bayern goalkeeper Butt[LNB]But last night would have gone some way to healing those scars, themanner in which Van Gaal's team seized the advantage in this tiehurting United as much as an apparently accidental stamp by Mario Gomezseemed to hurt Rooney. There was a sense of inevitability about bothevents here last night.[LNB]Just as a small group of Italians at the FA and the entire Englishnation have been living in fear of an injury to the remarkable Rooney,so United would have been fearful of a stoppage-time winner.[LNB]In this case not an effort from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer but Bayern'sIvica Olic, after 91 minutes and 57 seconds. Bayern will say there wasone crucial difference, however. That on this occasion the best teamwon. In 1999 United were every inch a team snatching victory from thejaws of defeat.[LNB] Rib blow: Ribery's free-kick deflects off of Rooney to net Bayern's late equaliser[LNB]Last night, though, Bayern always looked the better side, apart from a difficult opening spell.[LNB]Ferguson described United as 'average' during a brief half-timeinterview and average they most certainly were their failure to buildon Rooney's opening goal something that will disappoint themenormously. [LNB]They were nothing like their usual selves, an inability to retainpossession proving a real problem and one that Bayern were only toohappy to take advantage of. Not even a subtle change in tactics byFerguson provided a solution.[LNB]Even after dragging Paul Scholes back into a more defensive role andpushing Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick forward, they stillstruggled to keep the ball.[LNB]It enabled players like Franck Ribery and Hamit Altintop to pose a constant threat down the flanks and through the middle. [LNB] [LNB] Pain for Wayne: Rooney causes concern after going down with an ankle injury[LNB]Ribery might not have been fully fit but he was a ubiquitouspresence, inspired no doubt by Ferguson's assertion that he is not inthe class of Rooney and Lionel Messi. [LNB]Had it not been for the heroics of Edwin van der Sar, the margin ofvictory could have been considerably more. Van der Sar was outstanding,sparing the blushes of his defensive colleagues time after time. [LNB]And yet United started so well. With Arjen Robben confined to thestands and a bloke dressed like Batman momentarily unable to serve andprotect, Rooney continued his remarkable season last night by scoringwhat remains a potentially significant away goal.[LNB]Worrying sight: Wayne Rooney leaves the Allianz Arena on crutches[LNB]It was one of the less spectular of Rooney's 34 goals, the brilliantyoung striker taking full advantage of the masked Martin Demichelis'ssudden inability to remain on his feet by driving home a deflectedfree-kick from Nani. [LNB]For Bayern it certainly came as a surprise. Fearful, no doubt, of alate United goal after what happened at the Nou Camp in 1999, they maynot have expected to suffer such a setback so early on this occasion.[LNB]Rooney struck not in the last minute but very nearly the first, his goal coming after just 64 seconds.[LNB]Van Gaal wasn't telling lies after all. Robben might not have beeninjured but the poor lad's muscles were so tired he did not even makeit onto the bench, leaving the Germans without their best player.[LNB]His presence in the directors' box proved all the more painful whenRooney struck after little more than a minute, the United forwardmeeting a delivery from Nani that spun off Mark van Bommel with avolley he put into the roof of the Bayern net.[LNB]Ferguson said in his pre-match interview that he would prefer a goalto a clean sheet and this amounted to the perfect start, so preciousare away goals in this competition.[LNB]But Robben's absence does mean Bayern could be even stronger come next Wednesday and that will worry Ferguson.[LNB]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.[LNB]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.[LNB]Man of the match: Edwin van der Sar.[LNB]Referee: Frank de Bleeckere (Belgium).[LNB]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 Vidicsent a thumping header against the crossbar in the 83rd minute.[LNB]But when Bayern were awarded a free-kick in the 77th minute Riberyunleashed a shot that flew through the United wall and past Van der Sarvia Rooney's backside.[LNB]Worse, of course, would follow for Rooney and United. Seconds afterthat collision with Gomez, Olic seized on a moment's hesitation[LNB]by Patrice Evra and burst towards goal. First he accelerated pastUnited's left back and then Rio Ferdinand, before driving a left-footfinish past Van der Sar.[LNB]For United it was a first defeat in 18 on their European travels, but one even Ferguson conceded was richly deserved.[LNB] Rooney hits the punchbag in bid to smash Bayern with knockout blowBayern Munich 2 Manchester United 1: How the action unfoldedMANCHESTER UNITED FC
