In his weekly column for BBC Sport, Bayern Munich and England midfielder Owen Hargreaves says Real Madrid would not have won Tuesday's thrilling Champions League encounter if David Beckham had not been on the field. "Without him in the team...our job at Bayern would have been much easier," Hargreaves writes, adding that the response Beckham received in the first half was unnerving. "I try to block the noise out during a game but there was one point during the opening 45 minutes when he had several great moments and then prepared to take a fre -kick. As he stood over the ball, I suddenly heard this wall of sound chanting 'Beckham, Beckham, Beckham.'" In a truly sporting gesture, Hargreaves says he was pleased for his former England teammate even though they were on opposing sides. "It says a lot about someone who can stand out in such company," he says, referring to the long list of world-class players on the field.

It's also interesting to hear Hargreaves' share his personal experience of the match: He talks about the tension before and during the game, the atmosphere on the field and in the stands, and the banter between players. Most of all, the Canadian-Englishman says he was proud of the way his Bayern teammates responded with another crucial away goal in the second half after going down, 3-1, in the first. They know full well that a win in the return leg in Munich would in all likelihhod see them through to the next round. Read the original story...