Bayern Munich Reap the Reward for Throwing Caution to the Wind

When Wayne Rooney scored a priceless away goal after only three minutes of last night's Champions League quarter final, Manchester United could have been forgiven for feeling the job was already half done. Instead the goal merely provoked the hosts into action, and they responded with a rousing comeback which culminated in Olic's 92nd minute winner

European games of this magnitude are normally cagey affairs with both teams reluctant to take risks for fear of conceding, but the early goal forced Bayern's hand and they responded with a magnificent display of free flowing, attacking football.

United, in contrast, seemed content to try and hold what they had, and in doing so handed the initiative to their German opponents. There was more than a touch of fortune about the opening goal, as Nani's free kick was deflected into the path of an unmarked Rooney who simply could not miss. From then on it was all Bayern, and the German's scored a deserved equalizer when the outstanding Frank Ribery's free kick took an enormous deflection to the totally wrong foot of Edwin Van Der Saar.

Ferguson had already introduced Dimitar Berbatov with instructions to try and hold the ball up and alleviate some of the pressure on the back four. It was to no avail as Bayern continued to press, although their work was nearly undone when Vidic cannoned a header against the crossbar from a corner.

Bayern continued to push men forward in search of a crucial second goal and Mario Gomez could, and probably should, have provided it in injury time but Van der Saar did brilliantly to tip his shot around the post.

It wasn't until the final minute of injury time, 90 minutes after Rooney had given United the lead, that Bayern's efforts were finally rewarded. Olic capitalizing on a moment of hesitance from Patrice Evra, to stab the ball past Van De Saar and give his team a definitive advantage going into the second leg.

The bad news did not end there, as Wayne Rooney also injured himself in the dying seconds and is a doubt for Saturday's key game with Chelsea. Man United are still very much in this tie, but they will need to abandon their defensive minded approach when the two sides meet again next week.