Since the second minute in the Allianz Arena last week when Wayne Rooney stabbed the ball high into the roof of the Bayern Munich net the wheels have come loose on the Manchester United bandwagon.
Consecutive defeats have left their Champions League hopes and a fourth consecutive Premier League title in the balance and order must be restored at home to Bayern today if United’s season is not to suffer a terminal crash.
Everything was running smoothly for United when Rooney put them ahead in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final but the England striker deflected a 77th minute Franck Ribery shot past his goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar, twisted his ankle in stoppage time and was prone on the turf when Ivica Olic snatched a last-gasp winner for Bayern.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Rooney missed Saturday’s home league defeat by Chelsea which wrenched pole position from Alex Ferguson’s men in the title race and the fact Rooney may be rushed back for the second leg against Bayern shows just how much United rely on their talisman.
United’s late capitulation in Munich means they have to win, something they have managed just once in eight meetings with the Bavarian powerhouse.
“They’re not the same team without Rooney,” Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti said after his side coped comfortably with a toothless United side. “Rooney is a fantastic player who is difficult to replace with anyone else.”
Rooney’s 34 goals this season in all competitions have disguised a shortage of firepower from other areas for the three-times European champions.
Their next highest scorer is Dimitar Berbatov with 12, followed by the injured Michael Owen who has just nine while the ageing Paul Scholes, such a reliable scorer of important goals down the years, has managed only six.
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