Bayern Munich: Surprise Package or Sleeping Giants?

It looks like Bayern Munich are having an identity crisis of their own. Each time the boys in red arrive on the field, it's a crap shoot as to what team will show up!

Is it the team who drew to FC Cologne and was taken to school by Frankfurt? Or is it the one who grabbed Schalke by the horns in the DFB Pokal and tamed the Red Devils in the European Champions league with two of their key players absent?

The past four games have been emotionally turbulent, and for Bayern to come out of this season with any silverware, they need to perform as the latter.

Bayern Munich 2-1 Manchester United

When Rooney scored an early goal just after 64 seconds into play, then I'm sure that most of the Bayern Munich fans fastened their seat belts for what seemed to be another quarterfinal demolition.

Many others would have thought that nightmare was to be continued like the one endured at the same stage of the competition last year against Barcelona.

Instead, they appeared calm and well-organized and showcased the display of commanding football—they simply ran the show. 

Manchester United were left scratching their head, thinking what went wrong when they were leading by one goal at half-time—other than Rooney's goal and a chance by Nani, there wasn't much to be seen by the current EPL leaders in Bayern's final third.

Bayern had a generous portion of possession lead by midfield maestro Mark van Bommel and technically gifted Pranjic; they dictated the game in the midfield engine-room. At the back, Demichelis kept composed and improved his game after some lack of concentration in the first half.

It may have been in the best interest of the fans to keep those same seat belts on, because the second half proved to be an exalting ride.

Bayern seemed determined to equalize as Hamit Altintop released a shot after a show case of his technical abilities and making a fool of United's two centerbacks before unleashing the shot which was punched away by Edwin van der Sar.

Ivica Olic almost scored from a tight angle but Edwin Van Der Sar's quick reaction was enough to fend off any threat.

Finally in the 77th minute, Frack Ribery's deflected free kick landed in the Manchester United goal, and the south Germans were even.

From then on, Bayern kept on the pressure and based on the the continuation of their play, a 1-1 draw would have been an injustice to their great display of determination.

Nemanja Vidic's cracking header off the post from a corner may have worried Bayern fans for a moment, but that didn't stop the siege.

Second half substitute Mario Gomez continued the offensive surge with a big chance after a canny pass from Miroslav Klose. Their efforts were finally rewarded when Olic picked up the pieces of a defensive miscue in the 92nd minute and put Bayern in the lead, and gave them the victory.

Bayern Munich will go into the second leg full of confidence as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Arjen Robben would return amidst the speculation that Rooney might miss that game. 

Martin Demichelis

Although some may blame the Argentinian for Manchester's early goal, keep one thing in mind; he just came back from a multiple week lay-off and he played cautiously well for the rest of the game.

Demichelis is on the way to finding his form again.

The central defender slipped during the opening Manchester attack which left Wayne Rooney all by himself to put away a deflected free-kick. He appeared to muster up his confidence however, and aside from the brushing off the dust which comes with any extensive injury, he played well for the remainder of the game.

He even offered some contribution to the build-up of the numerous Bayern attacks. Using this as a foundation, it is imperative that Demichelis performs well for the remainder of the season.

It has been Bayern's defense that have let them down in recent weeks, and for them to achieve success in the concluding stage of the season, their defense will need to perform well and, more importantly, with consistent displays of rocky defense.