UNITED STILL IN IT

Manchester United manager David Moyes breathed a sigh of relief after his team came out of the Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich with a credible 1-1 draw. This leaves the club with a fighting chance in the second leg against one of the top teams in the world. Bayern Munich have widely been regarded as the best team for the last couple of years. They have been taken to another level by former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola, who came to the club in the summer.

However, a goal from Nemanja Vidic from a corner in the second half helped put United ahead in the tie for the first time, although they had several opportunities to take the lead through the likes of Danny Welbeck. It was a disappointing performance from Bayern, who did not create much opportunities. On the other hand, United defended with numbers on the back which made it hard for the German outfit to break through. Bastian Schweinsteiger, though, got the vital away goal that will become crucial in the second leg, but it at least leaves United with a fighting chance at a time when they were expected to get thrashed.

Moyes said after the encounter that the club are going to the second leg with belief that they can progress to the semifinals.

“We know we’ve got to score a goal. At the moment if the score stays the same, Bayern are through. We’ve got to do something about it. I think tonight we said that we wanted to go into the next leg with a real chance – a fighting chance – I think we’ve done that. We’ve given ourselves a great opportunity to try to go to Munich and get a victory,” said Moyes, whose team have an away trip against Newcastle United in between the two legs of the Champions League.