That was easy, says Bayern dazzler Arjen Robben

Champions League winners outclass Manchester City 3-1.

MANCHESTER: Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben claimed he and his teammates were taken aback by the straightforward nature of their 3-1 win at Manchester City in the Champions League.

The defending champions produced a masterful display at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, scoring through Franck Ribery, Thomas Mueller and Robben before Alvaro Negredo claimed a late consolation goal for the home side.

“The first 70 minutes we played some terrific football,” said Robben, who has now scored in five successive Champions League games, including the decisive goal against Borussia Dortmund in last season’s final.

“We were so dominant against a big team in Europe. We didn’t expect an easy game like that. It is a compliment to our team, but we expected more from City.

“We didn’t give them any space, we pressed them right up to the goalkeeper, and they just kicked it away. Sometimes they gave us too much space and we used the space well.

“City weren’t as organised defensively as we had expected, but there were some attacks of ours that simply were fantastically executed.

“When things go your way like that, it’s a lot of fun out on the pitch, especially against a quality team like City.”

Bayern’s victory gave Pep Guardiola’s side a three-point lead over City and third-place CSKA Moscow at the top of Group D, ahead of a home game with Czech champions Viktoria Pilsen later this month.

Taison lands late blow to force draw with United

Brazilian striker Taison’s goal 14 minutes from time denied Manchester United a second successive win in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday as Shakhtar Donetsk grabbed a 1-1 draw.

The draw – which sees Shakhtar remain unbeaten at home to English teams – leaves both sides unbeaten after two games with four points.

The point – United took the lead through Danny Welbeck early in the first-half – will ease some of the pressure on manager David Moyes, whose side have made their worst start to a league season since 1989.

“That was a good point coming here,” said Moyes. “Shakhtar have a great record here so to get a point is no mean achievement.

“I thought the team stood up well and we defended very well.”

Giggs breaks Champions League appearance record

United veteran Ryan Giggs broke the Champions League appearance record when he came on as a second-half substitute.

It was the 39-year-old Welsh midfielder’s 145th game in Europe’s premier club competition (including qualifiers) and took him past former Real Madrid striker Raul.

“It’s fantastic,” said Moyes. “I was telling him before the game he was going to come on off the bench. What a record, and what a player.”

Giggs, who is also now part of United’s coaching staff, won the competition with United in 1998-99 and 2007-08 and also has 13 league titles to his name. He has made over 900 appearances for the club.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 4^th, 2013.

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