Manchester United Dugout

Manchester United lost to Bayern Munich in their first leg of Champions League quarter final. The score line stays 2-1 in favour of the German giants, but the tie is not over yet!

United got off to a dream start as Rooney scored his 34th goal of the season just after 64 seconds. At that time it looked like the Red Devils will have an easy game at the Allianz Arena. However, the performance levels dropped after the early goal and eventually Bayern Munich snatched a victory.

Sir Alex Ferguson said, "We didn't play well enough to be honest. We gave the ball away far too easily from minute one. It is a part of our game we pride ourselves on and has been part of the reason for our progress. We caused our own defeat.”

The performance of the Red Devils was absolutely below par at the Allianz Arena. I thought the midfield was totally ineffective. I think Park and Carrick were the worst performers on the night. They were giving away possession so easily and United was not able to build that pressure in the center of the pitch.

Man-of-the-match Edwin van der Sar truly deserves to be applauded as his efforts kept the score line 2-1. He made some amazing saves and kept United in the game. Another disappointment of the night was to see Wayne Rooney leave the Allianz Arena on crutches. Rooney suffered an ankle injury  following a challenge with Mario Gomez.

The first leg defeat ended a six-match winning streak away from home for the Red Devils. The second leg will be played at Old Trafford on April 7. I believe United's away goal will be a big factor in deciding this Champions League tie.

Manchester United has a date with Franck Ribery as they clash with Bayern Munich tomorrow in their Champions League quarter-final. Sir Alex Ferguson has urged his players to go for an all-out attack at Allianz Arena and gun for goals.

United had followed a similar philosophy against AC Milan in the previous round. Despite falling behind to Ronaldinho's early goal, the Red Devils maintained an attacking mentality and scored vital away goals; and Sir Alex would love to have such an advantage before Bayern visits Old Trafford.

The German giants represent Manchester United's most famous opponents given they were the victims of that amazing Champions League final clash 11 years ago. Sir Alex said, "The history of Bayern and our games against them in past European ties tells you it is going to be a very difficult game."

This game would feature two of Sir Alex’s favorite players who would be against his side: Robben & Ribery. The Red Devils boss had tried to unsuccessfully sign both these players in 2004 and 2009 respectively. Both have them have real pace and it’s going to be difficult for Evra and Neville to control these Bayern wingers.

Sir Alex had agreed for a £40 million switch for Ribery last year, but Bayern tagged him with a price of £70 million and the deal failed to materialize.

The Champions League quarter-final would give the Red Devils boss a chance to take a closer look at Ribery. He believes that Ribery would leave Bayern Munich this summer; however, his destination won’t be England but Spain.