Bayern go into next Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg trip to Lyon with a slender one-goal lead after yet another sublime Arjen Robben effort, although Munich might yet rue not scoring a second on a night when Louis van Gaal’s men dominated their Ligue 1 opponents throughout. Both sides had a man sent off in an increasingly enthralling contest, which leaves the Bundesliga leaders with the slight advantage ahead of the return.
The 66,000 capacity crowd at the Allianz Arena saw Bayern create much the better of the first-half chances, but Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ivica Olic failed to hit the target. The balance of the game changed controversially with Franck Ribery’s harsh dismissal seven minutes from the break, but parity was restored with Jeremy Toulalan’s sending off for two bookable offences in three minutes shortly after the restart.
It was one-way traffic for a spell after that and chances went begging for the home side, before Robben handed the Bavarians an overdue lead with a trademark 25-yard piledriver. The sides settled for the result, leaving the tie nicely-poised before the return in the Rhone valley next week.
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