Arjen Robben’s goal sends Bayern Munich over Manchester United into Champions League semfinals

Bayern Munich ousts Man United from Champions Leag

MANCHESTER, England — Bayern Munich gave Germany its first European Champions League semifinalist since 2002 and left England with no teams in the final four for the first time since 2003.

Ivica Olic began the comeback with a goal late in the first half, Arjen Robben scored on a powerful volley in the 74th minute and Bayern Munich advanced over Manchester United despite a 3-2 loss Wednesday night.

“It was an incredible comeback from three goals down,” Bayern coach Louis van Gaal said. “In the first 20 minutes, Manchester United played us off the park, then we got back into the game with a great goal from Ivica Olic.

“At halftime I was confident we could get back into the game and get the result.”

Manchester United, the 2008 champion, took a 3-0 lead in the match and a 4-2 lead in the aggregate, helped by the quick return of Wayne Rooney from an ankle injury. But Rooney re-injured the ankle and could be sidelined for Sunday’s match with Blackburn in the English Premier League.

Helped by the ejection of Man United’s Rafael da Silva five minutes into the second half, Bayern came back and tied the aggregate score in the home-and-home, total-goals series 4-4. Bayern advanced because of a 2-1 advantage in away goals.

“After 3-0 I thought it was going to be a very long evening, but the goal from Olic gave us confidence,” Robben said. “They were a lot better in the first half.”

Bayern avenged its defeat in the 1999 final to Manchester United, which scored a pair of injury-time goals. It will play Lyon, which lost 1-0 at Bordeaux in an all-French quarterfinal but advanced on 3-2 aggregate to reach its first Champions League semifinal. Bayern hosts the first leg April 21, with the return leg six days later in France.

“The first half was not that good,” Vaa Gaal said. “What we did in the second half is incredible. We should have been aggressive from the start.”

In the other semifinal, Inter Milan hosts Barcelona on April 20 and plays in Spain eight days later. The final of the most important club competition in the world is May 22 in Madrid.

Sparked by the return of Rooney from an ankle injury sustained in last week’s 2-1 first-leg loss in Munich, Manchester United led 2-0 after only seven minutes on goals by Daron Gibson and Nani.

Nani gave Manchester United a 3-0 lead when he scored in the 41st. But Olic began Bayern’s comeback two minutes later when he left Michael Carrick flat-footed and slid a low, angled shot past goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

United played a man short when da Silva was sent off for tugging at Franck Ribery and receiving a second yellow card. He got a yellow card in the first half for a petulant kick after being fouled by Mark Van Bommel.

“Young boy, inexperience, but they got him sent off,” United manager Alex Ferguson said. “They all rushed towards the referee. Typical Germans. You can’t dispute that. The key issues were the goal before half time and then the boy getting sent off.”

Robben missed the first leg with a calf injury, but his comeback was overshadowed by that of Rooney, who had been expected to be sidelined for at least two weeks.

With his first touch, Rooney fed Gibson to score the first goal. Rooney then was part of the action that led to Nani’s backheeled goal that made it 2-0.

Rooney came out of the game in the 55th minute, and Bayern overpowered United.

“With 11 men it wouldn’t have been a problem,” Ferguson said.

There was a scare in the 22nd when Rooney starting limping after appearing to twist his ankle following a challenge by Daniel van Buyten. But Rooney gave a “thumbs-up” signal to the bench and remained on the field.

Ferguson said Rooney has “a burst blood vessel just below the ankle joint. He won’t be out for too long. He was unlucky to go over it again.”

At Bordeaux, Marouane Chamakh in the final minute of the first half for the host.

“It was a match that was not easy,” Lyon coach Claude Puel said. “Even though we told ourselves that we should play as if it was 0-0 in the first leg, we felt a bit of pressure. We were too much on the back foot in the first half. We handled better the second half because Bordeaux played at a slower tempo.”