28 June,2010 09:40 AM IST | | AFP
Germany's Thomas Mueller admitted his side had enjoyed a huge slice of luck when England had a goal mistakenly disallowed at a critical stage of his side's 4-1 World Cup win yesterday.
But the Bayern Munich midfielder claimed England could scarcely complain having famously benefited from a borderline goalline decision in their 1966 World Cup final win over Germany.
"This is the compensatory justice for Wembley," Mueller joked after his two-goal, man-of-the-match display.
Television replays showed a Frank Lampard shot that would have levelled the match at 2-2 just before half-time had landed a yard over the line after striking the under side of the bar.
But the goal was not given and Mueller killed England off with two second-half goals at the end of sweeping German counter-attacks.
Germany's goalkeeper Manuel Neuer claimed he did not know the ball had definitely crossed the line until he saw a television replay while providing a sample for doping control after the match.
But he admitted he had been sufficiently worried to make sure he got the ball back into play as quickly as possible.
"I grabbed the ball quickly and threw it back into the game," he said. "If I had looked to my right or to my left, the referee would have thought it about again."
Mueller said Germany had made the most of their good fortune. "We heard afterwards that the ball was clearly behind the line, that is what we were told," he said.
