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MOTD- Manchester United 1-1 Bayern Munich

By on April 1, 2014

You can never write Manchester United, no matter who the manager or what the circumstances, off.  United had won just five wins in their last nineteen matches since the turn of the year and are still sitting in a depressing seventh place in the English Premier League prior to their doomed meeting with Bayern Munich.  Bayern, meanwhile, are the reigning champions of Europe, not to mention the entire world, and have lost just once out of forty-five matches so far this season, so even a minor loss in the first leg of their Champions League Quarterfinal tie with the Bavarians would be some feat for United.  Even Arsenal, who are a full twelve points ahead of United in the Premier League standings, failed to stop Pep Guardiola’s Bayern side at home.

But, while a late comeback from Bayern turned what would have been a vital win for United into a draw, it was the first real time in which the Red Devil’s new manager David Moyes has stamped his authority on Old Trafford against a top club.  The Scot’s side’s 3-0 win over Olympiakos that actually got United to this stage in the Champions League isn’t even quite as good of a result as a tie with Bayern.

The home side came out promisingly, and made their statement to Bayern that they would not be content with sitting back for the entirety of the match.  Danny Welbeck’s disallowed goal just three minutes in was a sign of things to come for United, but in the meantime Bayern worked hard to maintain their foothold in the match and slowly began to dominate, and by the fifteenth minute they already had 70% possession of the ball.  Per Guardiola’s trademark tiki-taka style of play, the visitors were immediately pressuring United whenever they lost the ball, which only happened a few times throughout the first half.

Alexander Büttner only just managed to tackle the ball away at the near post to stop incoming runners from tapping home Arjen Robben’s low cross from the left, but for the most part Bayern were unable to penetrate through United’s sturdy defense despite endless probing.  The German champions first big sight of goal came when Robben cut in from the right and sent in a beautiful curler to the far post from twenty-five yards, which a sprawled out David De Gea only just managed to palm wide of goal.  But Bayern just kept going at it, and although they already lead the Champions League for the most passes made in the final third so far this season with 1677, tonight’s match has undoubtedly made their incredible tally a heck of a lot bigger.

However, United began to look brighter on the counter-attack as Welbeck spanked a long ranged shot into the arms of Manuel Neuer thirty-one minutes in, before Wayne Rooney saw his first time shot from the edge of the box blocked by a defender.  The match somewhat opened up, and United really should have taken a shock lead five minutes prior to the end of the half when Welbeck took advantage of Jérôme Boateng’s slip to burst in on goal down the middle.  He was one-on-one with Neuer, but decided to go fancy and attempt to chip the German goalkeeper.  Neuer read it, and managed to claw the shot away.

It continued to look good, or at least slightly better, from United as the match moved into the second half, and after Rooney headed into the arms of Neuer from around the penalty spot Nemanja Vidic gave Moyes’ side a shock lead in the fifty-eighth minute.  The Serbian center-back ventured up for a Rooney corner from the left, and finding himself completely unmarked he flicked a header into the bottom corner of the far post even though he was heading backwards to reach the cross.  Old Trafford burst into euphoria.  It seemed as if all their suffering over the past eight-or-so months was being rewarded for.

For eight minutes, the home fans remained in song, but Bayern spoiled their fun in the sixty-sixth minute.  They had brought on Mario Manzukic in the sixty-third minute to center their attack down the wings and successfully be able to bring down their crosses, and their goal was perfectly in line with that tactic.  Mandukic, at the far post, headed a cross from the right down to Bastian Schweinsteiger, who ran in to send a screaming half-volley into the top left corner from ten yards out.
Robben the curled a fifteen yard effort not far wide of the post before he slammed David Alaba’s cross from the left, which had been brought down by substitute Mario Götze, inches wide of the left-hand post, with Bayern pressing to complete the comeback.  However, the visitor’s night would end on a sour note as Schweinsteiger found himself sent off for a late challenge on Rooney, who undoubtedly made the most of it, in the last minute of regulation time.  While United failed to go on and find a winner over ten man Bayern, the red card that will leave Schweinsteiger unavailable for the second leg of the tie only adds to the growing hope Moyes’ and his side have that they might actually be able to pull off possibly an even greater feat than their famous 1999 Champions League final comeback win over Bayern.  And to think many had written them off before the match even started.
Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.