United would get a dream start. Rooney would shake off Zorro (Demichelis) from a Nani set piece to put United up 1-0 after only two minutes. Rooney scored his 34th goal this season and 5th in the Champions League.

United would continue to press, and in the 17th minute Nani looked like he was going to make it 2-0 after receiving a pass back from Fletcher, he split two Bayern defenders and was infront of goal just to the right of the PK spot but the strike would go wide as he hooked it a little too much with his left foot.

Van der Sar was in great form, helping hold the 1-0 lead for much of the game. Bayern kept knocking with the help of Ribery, who was the player of the game in my opinion. Ribery had a decent effort from distance in the 20th minute and again in the 28th minute with a cross.

Rooney would let a chance go 5 minutes before the half, after a brilliant cross from Fletcher. He received the ball in the box with plenty of time and decided to take all the time, and was denied by Butt.

United would go into the half with a 1-0 advantage

It was all Bayern in the second half. Van der Sar denied at least 6 great chances to equalize. First, Ribery played a great through ball for Olic, but Van der Sar pushed it wide. Muller would hit a ball that deflected off of Vidic and forced Van der Sar to make another great save.

Just before the hour mark, Altintop would weave his way through traffic and hit one from point blank directly at Van der Sar, who came up with yet another brilliant save.

Then in the 76th minute, Uniteds most experienced player would commit a rookie mistake by blatantly handling the ball just outside the eighteen. Allowing the French winger a chance which he would not waste. With the help of Rooney and a little luck, Ribery was able to put it past Van der Sar.

In injury time United would receive two catastrophic blows almost simultaneously. First, Rooney would go down injured with what looked to be a sprained ankle. Then, Olic would pick pocket a very naive Evra, who until that point had a brilliant game, inside the box and position himself right in front of goal with no pressure and put the second goal in for Bayern. Making life very difficult for United, both in the Champions League and in the Premier League.

Maybe Sir Alex got it wrong with the subs. He should have kept Park on, instead have taken Nani off for Valencia, and left Berbatov on the bench. Put someone in who wants to play, not a lazy and lanky striker in as a winger.

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United will have a strong line-up for the quarter-final. I predict Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, and Evra across the back, Carrick and Fletcher as holding midfielders Nani on the left and Park on the right, with Rooney up top.

Robben looks to be in doubt for the big match, and that would be a big plus, seeing as how the Dutchman has been in impeccable form.

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It’s a great draw for United as they are positioned on the weaker side of the play-off bracket. Not to say Porto is rubbish but I believe they are the weakest of the 8 teams remaining in the competition, followed by Villarreal and Arsenal.

Liverpool and Chelsea are both very strong at the moment, while Bayern and Barcelona are the best outside of England. United got the perfect draw and thankfully United will only play one of those four in the final at the Stadio Olimpico.

On paper, there is no reason why United should not reach the final. Porto failed to win against Athletico Madrid and only got by on away-goals. We all know Arsenal’s story and Villarreal is a team that plays good collective-team football but aren’t real contenders for Europe’s top prize.

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