SOCCER/CHAMPIONS LEAGUE/Bayern Munich 2 Manchester Utd 1:THIS CHAMPIONS League tie delivered an outcome that invigorated the tournament as much as it depleted Manchester United. In stoppage time, a mistake by Patrice Evra allowed Ivica Olic to score and complete Bayern Munich's recovery from 1-0 down, Franck Ribery having brought the scores level 13 minutes from the end with a deflected free-kick.
Bayern deserved this victory after achieving command from late in the first half onwards.
United may be even more dismayed by what looked a bad stoppage-time injury to Wayne Rooney’s right ankle, which he twisted on landing.
Such misery could not have been anticipated early in this fixture. United had been in highly effective form going into the match, but the opposition here sometimes looked like accomplices before the interval.
While there was a little misfortune for Bayern at the opener in the second minute, the level of concentration still seemed unimpressive. Nani’s free-kick from the right took a small deflection, but one might have expected Rooney, of all people, to be under heavy guard. When Martin Demichelis slipped, however, the forward had plenty of time to score with a composed finish.
Alex Ferguson might not have expected a breakthrough so soon, but the desire to dominate had been clear from the start. The versatile Park Ji-sung was a left winger on this occasion, while Nani kept wide on the other flank. The intention was to employ the advantage of an extra man in midfield by stretching the quartet Bayern initially had in that department before Thomas Muller was pulled deeper to assist them.
Bayern did attack with purpose though when the balance of the action shifted towards them.
The notion that United should have any prospects of dictating terms at a venue such as the Allianz Arena continues to be disconcerting. With the searing exception of the 1999 final in this tournament, the Old Trafford club have been unable to win when pitted against the Bundesliga side in the Champions League.
It was not certain how much bite the side could have against United in view of Bastian Schweinsteiger’s suspension and the absence of Arjen Robben through injury. Even so, Louis Van Gaal is not a meek or fatalistic character. His line-up did not lack noteworthy footballers, even if Franck Ribery’s time at Bayern had not been as spectacular as anticipated.
Despite the setback, they did have the confidence to ruffle Ferguson’s men. Paul Scholes, to take one example, struck some outstanding passes yet ought also to have been cautioned for a foul on Hamit Altintop.
Bayern did not lack ambition and Ribery, for instance, gave Gary Neville some trouble.
The quality of Van Gaal’s team is, all the same, uneven. Altintop epitomised that when miscontrolling the ball. When a miskick by the Turk ran to Olic, the forward could not connect properly either.
United still showed every intention of ending the contest in this first leg of the tie. When the influential Darren Fletcher delivered from the left Demichelis failed to intercept, but goalkeeper Hans Jorg-Butt was quick off the line to block Rooney in the 39th minute.
Bayern brought spirit and a smattering of talent to this occasion. Nonetheless, it was not within their scope to dictate.
A match that swayed from end to end might have pleased the dispassionate onlooker, but it would not have been to the taste of Van Gaal. The manager did see some progress as United were pinned down early in the second half, but a lack of execution continued to hamper Bayern. Altintop, for instance, manoeuvred delightfully to give himself scope but the shot went straight to Van der Sar.
United, in that period, were compelled to concentrate on covering and defending. The encouragement lay in the bluntness of the Bayern attack and the humdrum nature of the final ball directed towards someone like Olic.
United did not impress either, but they held the lead even if the desire to add to it had faded. Ferguson, all the same, might have expected counter-attacks to keep the opposition off-balance. There was scant sign of that in his men, whose energy levels were markedly below those of Bayern for a spell.
Ferguson tried to intervene here by bringing on Dimitar Berbatov and Antonio Valencia to try to get his side back on the attack.
The prospects in the tie continued to look good for United, but this match had become exacting, and Bayern’s momentum found its reward in the final quarter of an hour.
BAYERN MUNICH: Butt, Lahm, Van Buyten, Demichelis, Badstuber, Altintop (Klose 86), Van Bommel, Pranjic (Tymoschuk 89), Ribery, Muller (Gomez 73), Olic. Subs not used: Rensing, Gorlitz, Contento, Alaba. Booked: Badstuber, Olic.
MANCHESTER UTD: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick (Valencia 70), Scholes, Nani (Giggs 82), Park (Berbatov 70), Rooney. Subs not used: Kuszczak, Rafael Da Silva, Jonathan Evans, Gibson. Booked: Neville, Scholes, Rooney.
Referee: Frank De Bleeckere (Belgium).
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