Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben admitted his side’s immediate response to Manchester United’s opening goal in the second leg of the quarter-final tie at the Allianz Arena held the key to their progression to the Champions League final four.
#INSERT type:image caption: Bayern Munich salute their fans after a 3-1 win over Mancheter United sent them through to the Champions League semis.END#
Patrice Evra’s magnificent strike handed United a brief aggregate advantage before Bayern swiftly cancelled out that goal with an equaliser of their own just 22 seconds after the restart. Robben told Sky Sports those thrilling few seconds changed the course of the tie.
“They scored the first goal, so of course it was a tricky tie, but in the end 3-1 is a very good result,” reflected the Dutch attacker, who scored the late clincher for Bayern as they cemented their position as Champions League favourites.
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“I think it was very important we scored straight after they did. It was crucial today. It looked like a wake-up call because the first 10 minutes of the second half were a disaster the way we played.
“We were so slow, we were not there and you cannot do that in the Champions League as you will be punished. That’s what they did, but it was a wake-up call and we scored three goals.
“We wanted to attack and play our football. They were there for the counter-attack - they are very dangerous with great players up front who are very quick.
“We had to be careful. In the first half we controlled the game, in the second half we were very, very bad and we got punished. But fortunately we turned it around.”