Don't miss my Neal and Pray column in The New Age.... every Tuesday!

Tuesday, 30 March 2010

Bayern Munich 2 Manchester United 1, but limping Rooney is what matters


THE worst possible scenario. Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney has suffered a World Cup threatening injury. No, not a metatarsal. It looks like his right ankle.

He went over on it after an innocuous episode right at the end of the Premier League’s champions embarrassing 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich tonight. Innocuous? Bayern were actually scoring the winner went he went off in agony.

Ironic really. Sir Alex Ferguson pulled him out of Sunday’s 4-0 win at Bolton Wanderers over a “bruised foot”. That came after an “inflamed knee tendon” kept him out of the starting line-up for the Carling Cup final.

Jamie Redknapp, analysing for Sky Sports, made the point: “It’s been a nightmare for Manchester United”. I’m not sure that’s true. Sure, they were outplayed. But Rooney scored after 70 seconds, crashing home his 34th goal of the season.

But after that, Bayern dominated. Franck Ribery took England candidate Gary Neville, 35, apart down the right of United’s creaking system.

They levelled, then went ahead as the second half looked increasingly Germanic. Sir Alex Ferguson said: “We kept giving the ball away to be honest. We caused our own defeat to be honest.

“That was our downfall. The last goal? How can you describe it?

“Wayne Rooney? I’m not sure. He’s being treated at the moment. We’ll see what happens.

“At Old Trafford it will be a different game obviously. We won’t be giving the ball away like we did tonight. We’ve got the away goal, that will matter.”

In case you're interested, the first-ever all-French Champions League quarter-final between Lyon and Bordeaux ended 3-1. Next to Rooney's as-yet-unconfirmed injury, who gives a damn?


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