In front of 90,000 spectators at the football temple of Camp Nou and a global TV audience of billions, FC Bayern believed they had reached the promised land after Mario Basler's free-kick goal in the 6th minute. Those dreams were shattered by Teddy Sheringham (91') and Ole Gunnar Solskjær (93'), both from David Beckham corners.
40,000 fans watching on a big screen at Munich's Olympiastadion met the last-minute elimination with stunned horror. It also scratched their aura of clinical composure and invincibility when leading — and in a truly needless fashion.
This was the cruellest defeat because we were so close, said president Franz Beckenbauer.
A few seconds were enough to bring Manchester back into the game. I have rarely experienced an unluckier defeat than this one. 102 seconds, to be precise.
Lothar Matthäus, who had himself substituted while it was still 1-0 — a decision that earned him fierce internal criticism — said: It's bitter, it's sad.
It's incomprehensible for the players and the fans what happened here. You can't blame the team.
Goalscorer Mario Basler turned almost poetic: Those were three minutes to eternity. An entire world collapses.
