Bayern Munich vs. Man United: 13 Conclusions From the Match

Man United took the lead early on through Wayne Rooney. Bayern equalized in the second half via free kick from Franck Ribery, and Ivica Olic stole the show at the end, by netting a late winner.

The Conclusions:

1. Mark Van Bommel has an 'inner footballer" inside him. He can pass the ball brilliantly around the pitch, retrieve the ball and make long runs into the penalty area of the opposition. Van Bommel's "inner footballer" has come out during many matches of this Champions League campaign. He led by example once again last night, and alongside playing his role, he also played part of the suspended Bastian's role.

2. Louis Van Gaal previously knew that he had 11 good players for every match. Now, he knows that he actually has 13. Two players out of favour at Bayern, i.e Hamit Altintop and Danijel Pranjic, put in two tremendous shifts for their club last night. Pranjic kept the ball well and spread possession whereas Altintop had a great night running down his flank, and could have even scored had Edwin van der Sar not been on his toes throughout the game.

3. Van Gaal allowed Mario Gomez to enter the game at the correct moment. Despite the fact that he spent half of his time whining, he played an important role in unknowingly setting up Ivica Olic for the winner.

4. Plenty of people have referred to the fact that United played poorly. What they do not see is that they played poorly because of the way that Bayern played. Bayern pressed United and hardly left the United midfielders any breathing space. They won the majority of the possession because they fought for it and they retained possession as they passed the ball very well.

5. Hard work always pays off. Just ask Ivica Olic. The man spent the entire night running around the pitch. He ran towards Van der Sar all night prior to goal kicks. After missing a sitter in the first half, he redeemed himself in the second half with a well taken and cheeky goal. The referee even shook hands with Olic and offered him a big smile after giving Olic a yellow card for his celebrations.

6. The Bayern defence improved by at least five steps for this match. Even so, the defence was below par and shaky. Wayne Rooney and Luis Nani only took a minute to expose Martin Demichelis. He and Daniel van Buyten, though, deserve credit. Following the first half blunder, they both played pretty well.

7. The first chance that Wayne Rooney missed in the second half can be seen in  a different way. It was actually a brilliant save from Hans-Jorg Butt. Butt was there when the team most needed him last night and helped his defence out as much as he could.

8. Even United's famous luck deserted them last night, as Nemanja Vidic hit the cross bar via a header and Wayne Rooney missed two sitters. Lady Luck shone on Bayern last night. The referee gave a few decisions in United's favour though. Bayern could have had two more corners had the referee noticed that the final touch on both cases came from a United player.

9. Despite the win, United are still in the driver's seat. It is still their tie to lose. Mark Van Bommel agrees as well. This win increases Bayern's chances of a semifinal berth but in no way makes them a favourite for the entire tie. Losing 3-2 at Old Trafford isn't an easy job. A defeat in such a scenario would take Bayern through.

10. English commentators need to learn a bit more about German clubs. A former Man United player referred to Bastian as "Sebastian". They mostly kept on commenting about 1999 leaving 2001 absolutely out of the picture. I will spare Andy Gray, though as he was perhaps the only commentator on the night who actually appreciated Bayern's efforts properly, and said that they deserved to win.

11. Paul Scholes should have been sent off. He made three rash tackles and was only punished for one by the referee.

12. Franck Ribery is finally believing in Bayern. He wasn't at this best last night; yet, he played with plenty of heart. Despite the massive deflection, his goal was well deserved.

13. Bayern's team spirit came to their rescue last night. Without Bastian Schweinsteiger, Arjen Robben and mostly without Mario Gomez, Bayern dug deep to win. Louis Van Gaal also deserves credit for setting out a different team than most had expected him to.

Do you agree with my conclusions? Your comments are most definitely welcome.