Arjen Robben’s Volley, “Typical Germans” Lead to Man Utd’s Champions League Undoing

↵Manchester United played host to Bayern Munich yesterday in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. With United losing the first match 2-1, they needed a victory of at least two goals – or a 1-0 result that would put them ahead on the important away goals tie-breaker – to advance to the semis. ↵

↵↵There was much optimism for the favored United side, especially when Wayne Rooney and his injured ankle suited up to play. United got out to an early 2-0 lead before extending it to a near-insurmountable 3-0 shortly before halftime. Bayern Munich struck back, however, taking the 3-1 deficit into the locker room, needing just one goal to advance on tiebreakers. And what a goal it was. ↵

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↵↵If there was ever a definition of wonder strike, that’s it. Of course, that’s not the only shot taken yesterday. Sir Alex Ferguson took a pretty direct shot at the German side after the match, intimating that they used dirty tactics to goad Rafael into a red card. From the Manchester Evening News.↵

↵↵⇥“It was 35 yards from goal,” said Ferguson of Rafael’s tug on Franck Ribery.

↵⇥↵⇥“There was no threat and the referee wasn’t going to do anything about it until they surrounded him. It is typical of Germans. They are like that.”↵⇥

↵↵Here’s a different version of Sir Alex’s rant, from The Guardian:↵↵⇥ “They got him sent off,” he said. “There’s no doubt about that and they would have never won if we had 11 men. He [Rafael] is a young boy, inexperienced and there’s a bit of immaturity about what happened but they got him sent off. Typical Germans.”↵↵The quote is twice as funny considering Ribery is French and their coach, Louis van Gaal, is Dutch. Whatever gets you through the day, Sir Alex. Of course, it still won’t get you through to the next round.↵