In that unmistakable manner, he dribbled inside from the right wing, left his opponent standing and fired the ball into the goal with his left foot. It’s almost impossible to count how many times Arjen Robben had Bayern fans celebrating after his signature move. And he did it twice one evening in November 2018 in what turned out to be his final act on the Champions League stage.
Arjen Robben had Bayern fans on their feet against Benfica in November 2018.
FCB were hosting Benfica on Matchday 5 of the group stage at the Allianz Arena. A win would see the Munich side through to the knockout rounds with a game to spare. And they made the perfect start thanks in no small part to an outstanding Robben yet again.
Robben paves the way
Arjen Robben opened the scoring after another trademark run.
The Dutchman picked up the ball on the right wing in the 13th minute. He danced past three Benfica defenders into the box, jinked to his left and fired the ball into the far top corner. Bayern’s No10 was at it again not long after. Running onto Thomas Müller’s pass down the inside right, the left-footer again dribbled into the box, left a defender bamboozled before making it 2-0 with another thunderous effort, this time into the near top corner.
Watch the highlights of the game against Benfica in 2018:
Final Champions League appearance
Bayern would go on to record a comfortable 5-1 win and book their place in the knockout stage. Robben had to go off after 72 minutes with a thigh problem. What no FCB fan could’ve known that night was that it would be Mr. Wembley’s final Champions League appearance. He missed the last-16 tie with Liverpool due to injury before leaving Munich in the summer. But no fan will ever forget his famous move. It was fitting we got to see it twice in his last European game against Benfica.
Bayern face Benfica again on Wednesday and we’ve taken a closer look at the Portuguese opposition:
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