Robben goal means Bayern beat Lyon in bad-tempered battle

Both sides had a man sent off in their Champions League semi-final first leg, but the difference in the end was Arjen Robben's deflected strike.

Dutchman Arjen Robben's deflected second half goal gave Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Olympique Lyon in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday in which both teams had a player sent off. In a bad-tempered match, Bayern had more chances throughout the match, while Lyon relied on rare counterattacks and created few threats. Bayern's Franck Ribery was shown a straight red card in the 37th minute, then Lyon were reduced to 10 men nine minutes into the second half after Jeremy Toulalan picked up two bookings in quick succession.

Robben, enjoying a superb first season in Germany, netted the only goal in the 69th minute when his long-range strike took a slight deflection off the head of team mate Thomas Mueller and beat keeper Hugo Lloris. Bayern Munich playmaker Ribery, in the spotlight this week afer being questioned by French police as a witness in a prostitution investigation, was sent off after he stamped on the ankle of Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez as he tried to tackle him with the score at 0-0. Frenchman Ribery, who has yet to decide whether he will stay at Bayern or join another major European club at the end of the season, will also miss the return leg in France.

Ribery, whose participation in the match was initially in doubt because of injury, was one of several France internationals who were quizzed in relation to the prostitution ring. Toulalan was sent off in the 54th minute for a second bookable offence. *Agencies