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Not this time Bayern gets revenge on United, reaches semis
Updated: Wednesday April 18, 2001 6:58 PM
MUNICH, Germany (AP) -- Bayern Munich reached the semifinal of the Champions League for the third year in a row by beating Manchester United 2-1 in an action-packed match Wednesday. Brazilian striker Giovane Elber scored in the fifth minute and Mehmet Scholl added the second in the 40th to put Bayern through 3-1 on aggregate after a 1-0 win in Manchester two weeks ago. Ryan Giggs scored for United in the 49th. The victory earned Bayern a measure of revenge for its 2-1 defeat by United in injury time of the 1999 final in Barcelona. Bayern is looking for its first title since the last of its three straight in 1976. Because of suspensions, Bayern was without midfielder Hasan Salihamidzic and its French World Cup star, defender Bixente Lizarazu, while United played without star midfielder David Beckham. Before a capacity crowd of 63,000 at Munich's Olympic stadium, Bayern got off to just the kind of a dream start dreaded by United and went ahead in the fifth minute. The goal came as a result of good work by the players who replaced the suspended starters. A long pass from center field from French defender Willy Sagnol found Michael Tarnat racing on the left. The defensive midfielder sent a low ball into the Manchester area. Forward Carsten Jancker failed to connect, the ball passed between Wesley Brown and Jaap Stam and Elber beat Mikael Silvestre to the punch to bury his shot into the roof of the net from close range. Only three minutes later, Jancker fired a volley that shook the crossbar. Manchester replied with a few minutes later, with Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn having to rush far out to clear in front of Dwight Yorke. In the 18th minute, Kahn was stunned and appeared to lose consciousness for a few moments after being knocked in the chin by the right knee of Andy Cole in a collision. The visitors then kept Bayern on the defensive and Kahn was shaken again in another collision in the air. In the 26th, Cole nearly equalized for Manchester off a corner by Giggs, but Scholl cleared on the line at the far post. With Bayern under increasing pressure, Paul Scholes fired a volley wide. After 35 minutes, Jancker had to leave the field because of an injury and was replaced by Alexander Zickler. Against the run of play, Bayern got its second in the 40th. Midfielder Jens Jeremies broke through on the right, found Elber in the Manchester area, the Brazilian passed to Zickler and the ball bounced off his hip to Scholl, left unmarked. The midfielder ended the sudden move by beating Fabien Barthez with a shot to the near corner of the net for his team-high fifth goal in the Champions League. In the final minute of the first half, Kahn made a lucky save with his right foot to deny Cole. Manchester, which clinched its seventh Premier League title in nine seasons Saturday, got back into the match four minutes into the second half. Scholes beat the offside trap with a high ball behind the Bayern defense and Giggs lifted it over Kahn to revive United's hopes. Giggs tested Kahn again in the 59th but the Bayern goalkeeper palmed the ball aside. In the 63rd, a collision in the air with Yorke left Bayern's Swedish defender Patrik Andersson with a deep cut over the right eye. He was able to return, with a few stitches to close the bloody wound. Both teams then made substitutions in their forward lines. Teddy Sheringham came in for Yorke, while Roque Santa Cruz came in for Elber. Cole had calls for a penalty denied in the 74th minute after he appeared to have been brought down by Sammy Kuffour. With 11 minutes left, Zickler fired over and United replied with a right-foot volley from Scholes that was punched over the bar by Kahn. Sheringham then drilled a shot wide from close range. Scholl then faked Brown but shot wide and Zickler appeared to have been knocked down by Silvestre with five minutes left but did not get the penalty call. There were dramatic scenes in front of the Bayern goal in injury time, but this time, Bayern survived to go through. Hitzfeld relieved as Bayern make up for traumatic lossBayern Munich coach Ottmar Hitzfeld waited until the very last second to rejoice when his men dimmed painful memories by beating Manchester United on Wednesday. Hitzfeld had in mind the scenario of the 1999 Champions League final, in which United scored twice in injury time to beat Bayern 2-1. But this time the Munich club held out under sustained pressure for a 3-1 aggregate victory to set up a semifinal clash with Real Madrid, who stopped them in the semifinals last year and went on to lift the trophy. "Manchester United are a team who never give up and we knew we should not rejoice too early," Hitzfeld said. "But I had a good feeling, even if we didn't make the most of the chances to counter-attack we had in the closing stages. We should have moved 3-1 up." Elber offered Bayern a fine start, hammering in from inside the box from a Michael Tarnat cross in the fifth minute. "Conceding a goal after five minutes was the last thing we wanted," said Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson. Schocked by the early goal, the newly-crowned English champions were showing signs of recovery when midfielder Mehmet Scholl made it 2-0 five minutes before the interval, collecting an astute pass by Elber to slot the ball home close to the left-hand post with Barthez powerless. United were more aggressive after the break and Ryan Giggs, ideally set up by Paul Scholes, restored their hopes by surprising Bayern goalkeeper Oliver Kahn, who was standing too far out, in the 49th minute. Did not panic Giggs almost added another with a fierce shot from some 20 metres 10 minutes later but he was denied by a brilliant save from Kahn. Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who scored the added-time goals that gave Manchester United the European title two years ago, then both came on and the 60,000 fans packing the Olympic stadium on a cool, dry night shivered. But Bayern did not panic this time. "We had some good chances there," said Ferguson. "I thought Teddy and Andy Cole had some fantastic chances but they just wouldn't go in, it was one of those nights. "It's very disappointing but I have to say the defending in the first half cost us the game. "It was a terrible start. In the second half we did express ourselves the way we expect a Manchester United team to do and we were unlucky at the end of the night." Bayern are now in the semifinals of Europe's showcase competition for the third time in succession. One of the continent's three outstanding teams with Real and Manchester United over the past few years, they can only feel that their time has come. "This was never about revenge, for me anyway, and the same will go for the matches against Real," Scholl said. "This victory will give us a boost and will improve the atmosphere within the team." "I expected we would face Real if we made it to the semifinals. I have respect for them but I don't fear them." SummaryScorers: Bayern Munich - Elber 5, Mehmet Scholl 40 Manchester United - Ryan Giggs 49 Halftime: 2-0; Attendance: 60,000 Teams: Bayern Munich: 1-Oliver Kahn; 4-Samuel Kuffour, 5-Patrik Andersson, 25-Thomas Linke; 2-Willy Sagnol, 16-Jens Jeremies, 11-Stefan Effenberg (captain), 18-Michael Tarnat; 19-Carsten Jancker (21-Alexander Zickler 35), 9-Elber (24-Roque Santa Cruz 64), 7-Mehmet Scholl (13-Paulo Sergio 88) Manchester United: 1-Fabien Barthez; 2-Gary Neville, 6-Jaap Stam, 24-Wes Brown (36-Luke Chadwick 85), 27-Mikael Silvestre; 8-Nicky Butt (20-Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 78), 16-Roy Keane (captain), 18-Paul Scholes, 11-Ryan Giggs; 9-Andy Cole, 19-Dwight Yorke (10-Teddy Sheringham 66) Referee: Vitor Manuel Melo Pereira (Portugal).
Reuters contributed to this report.
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