Robben unimpressed by Moscow's silent night

By Dmitriy Rogovitskiy MOSCOW Russia (Reuters) - Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben was unimpressed by a strange new experience in his career as his side overcame CSKA Moscow in the Champions League in an eerily empty Khimki Arena. While Bayern's Dutch luminary sounded as if he had not enjoyed CSKA's defensive approach during the 1-0 victory, he also seemed even more underwhelmed by the odd atmosphere which enveloped the behind-closed-doors contest. "It's the first time I have played without fans in the stadium," observed Robben, reflecting on the match which was ordered by European football's governing body UEFA to be played in an empty arena because of racist behaviour from CSKA fans. "Obviously now I am used to playing in front of a packed stadium, with a lot of fans and that is how football should be." Robben also believes football should be about enterprise, which was evident in his observation that "only one team looked to attack" during Bayern's triumph. He had been kept quiet for long periods, finding it difficult to find space when faced by two walls of red shirts between him and the goal but Bayern eventually found a way through in the Group E encounter with a 21st minute penalty. "One goal was decisive today and we are very happy with the win and the three points," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, who was surprised by Moscow's defensive starting lineup. He was reminded of a particular Bundesliga game, he said. "It was not that long ago, that we played against Cologne and they played against us in pretty much the same manner as CSKA did today. We tried to move the ball and stretch their defence." Despite their second consecutive group defeat, CSKA's head coach Leonid Slutski has not given up hope of progressing to the knockout stages. "Given our selection problems and the fact we were up against Bayern, who dominated possession, we decided to play with three central defenders. Overall, I think the plan worked," he said. "The only thing we were unable to do was score, despite the fact we had chances. We were interested in other statistics rather than the amount of possession. "For example, they had eight shots on target, while we had five. That is not a big difference. We created some excellent chances. They did not create one."