Manchester United-Bayern Munich: 13 Conclusions from Wednesday's Match

I don't think I need to remind anyone about what happened in this match. Darron Gibson opened the scoring in the third minute. Luis Nani doubled the lead in the seventh minute. United went 3-0 up in the 41st minute through Nani.

Ivica Olic got one back for Bayern two minutes later. At the beginning of the second half, Rafael da Silva was sent off for two bookable offences. Arjen Robben then scored a wonder goal to take Bayern to the semis on away goals after nine long years.

The Conclusions

1) Sir Alex Ferguson said in his post-match interview that Bayern got Rafael sent off. Primarily, Rafael did the "unthinkable" by "bullying the bully." He kicked Mark van Bommel in retaliation following a challenge by van Bommel. He stopped Franck Ribery in his tracks in the second half unfairly, and eventually got sent off.

The Bayern players did what was best for the team. Paul Scholes committed three bookable offences in the first leg and got one yellow card. He did not get sent off. There are no two ways about it. Rafael deserved a red card for his naiveté.

This is what Sir Alex said:

"The young boy showed a bit of inexperience but they got him sent off, everyone sprinted towards the referee—typical Germans."

2) The Bayern defense could not have been more horrible. Holger Badstuber seemed frightened to challenge Nani last night, and did not get close enough to the Portuguese to prevent him from going forward.

That being said, it was Antonio Valencia who troubled Badstuber as he played down the left. Nani got the better of Lahm on the other hand. Martin Demichelis and Daniel van Buyten made every Bayern fan nervous.

3) Hans-Jorg Butt may be blamed for the first goal. He is also, however, Bayern's saviour. In the second half, Nani ran forward and would have scored had it not been for Hans-Jorg Butt's hand. That goal perhaps would have effectively ended the tie.

4) There is a small difference between Ribery and Robben; I am not referring to their abilities. Ribery seemed disinterested when Bayern went 2-0 down and lost the ball easily. He didn't even want to retrieve it. Robben, however, though not at his best, tried to retrieve every ball he lost.

5) Bastian Schweinsteiger's contributions defensively and offensiely were enormous. However, the captain, Van Bommel's contributions shouldn't go unmentioned. He played well last night, and when he lost the ball he tried his best to retrieve it. Bullish as ever, he got the team together when they were down 3-0.

6) There is something that Ivica Olic likes about United. He won the first leg for Bayern and started the revival for the second. Just like the first leg, he ran towards Edwin van der Sar all night long. His finish in the first half was a thing of beauty. Mario Gomez or Miro Klose wouldn't have been able to finish like that at the moment.

7) Arjen Robben is in a class of his own. Following the match, he did not want to be compared with Lionel Messi, and rightly so. Messi has his own style, while Robben has a different one. Arjen Robben has given Bayern two added dimensions. Robben has already left his mark on Bayern's history.

8) Darron Gibson is a wonderful player. He looks set to be a future starter for United. Nani played extremely well, and almost demolished Bayern single-handedly in the first half.

9) On a night when Sir Alex was at a loss for words, and Rio Ferdinand refused to shake hands with Bayern players, Nemanja Vidic acted like a gentleman. He even shook hands with Olic when Olic was being substituted for Danijel Pranjic.

10) When Louis van Gaal decided to play defensively at the end, plenty of Bayern supporters must have been furious. However, due to the fact that van Gaal's Bayern retain the ball so well, his decision proved to be the correct one.

11) Mario Gomez had a major impact on the tie. He came on as an impact player in both games, and really helped his team move forward and search for goals. Bayern were patient in their build-up in the second half. They didn't rush at all in search for the second goal and deserve massive credit for that.

12) The Bayern medical team deserve plenty of credit for being able to prepare Arjen Robben for the tie.

13) The referee for the match was one of the fairest at Old Trafford. He stopped the game at the end of three minutes of stoppage time, and rightly judged and booked the players.

Bayern deserved the victory in the tie at the end. They were the better team in the first leg and the mentally stronger side in the second. And Arjen Robben's goal should definitely settle any tie!

Bayern, however, mustn't underestimate Lyon. Lyon have as much a chance as Bayern to progress to the finals. The first leg of the semis takes place on April 21.

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