Manchester United
are set to make a ‘routine’ quarter-final appearance in the Champions
League. However, they only secured their place in the final eight
after a bumpy ride in the round of 16.
In what was supposed to be an ‘easy’ tie for the Premier League
title-holders, Greek team, Olympiakos, stunned the Red Devils as they
took a shock two-goal lead from the first leg.
The Premier League giants seemed dead and buried, but an impressive display of wits and guts at Old Trafford turned the tie around in favour of David Moyes’s men.
An inspired hat-trick (his first in the Champions League) from Robin Van Persie was all it took.
The same, however, cannot be said about their next quarter-final opponents—Bayern Munich.
Many, including Jose Mourinho, believe that Manchester United and Chelsea are the weakest teams in the last eight of the competition. And one wouldn’t be too far from the truth if it were suggested that Manchester United, and Moyes, were hoping to land the ‘weakest’ team from the last eight.
Unfortunately for them, they tango with the defending champions.
It was feared that the treble-winning team of Jupp Heynckes would
suffer some backslide in the eventual transition to
Pep Guardiola’s methods, but all the doubters have been proved
wrong. Instead of waning, the Spanish tactician has honed the Bavarians
into an even more effective machine. Converting the long-serving Bayern
captain, Philip Lahm, from a world class right-back into a world class
midfield orchestrator is just one example of his ingenuity and
remarkably impressive and effective imprint on the team.
On the basis of the Bavarians’ record in the Bundesliga, compared to the dynasty-destroying run the Red Devils are currently on in the Premier League, one would be forgiven for simply assuming the outcome of the match.
Even though the Red Devils overcame Aston Villa this weekend, they still remain down in seventh place, 17 points off league leaders Liverpool.
The Bavarians are currently top of the Bundesliga with 78 points from 28 games. Thehave already won the title and have a 25-point gap over second-placed team, Borussia Dortmund, while, in contrast the Red Devils languish, unconventionally out of the top four, in 7th position on the EPL log.
The Bavarians’ brilliant league performances have been replicated in the prestigious European competition. Their impressive performances have led to widespread conviction that they could go all the way to retain their continental crown—a feat no team has yet managed (even Guardiola’s own, iconic, Barcelona side).
Standing in their way, however, are Moyes’s boys.
After sensationally turning the Olympiakos tie around at Old Trafford, Moyes declared: “I suppose we’ll be the underdogs in the draw, but I genuinely believe we can do it.”
The Scot, drawing inspiration from Liverpool’s fairytale run in 2005, has got every right to believe and express such audacious optimism; and only time will tell the fate of both teams.
Bayern Munich, as much as they’ve looked invincible at times, have also looked disoriented too—especially in defence.
Arsenal’s resilient display, over both legs in the round of 16 (even though they eventually crashed out), exposed the frailties of the Bayern Munich team. The optimism (or hope), therefore, lies within the mature, experienced and determined firepower Manchester United can boast. They can surely expose and exploit the weak links in the opposition and punish the Bavarians. In doing so, however, they have to zip-it-up at the back to avoid getting torn apart themselves.
So far, it has been a season to forget for Moyes and the Manchester United faithful. But like the popular saying goes, “it is not over until it’s over.” The Red Devils have been battered and bruised, badly, but they are certainly not out of the race for European glory, at least, not yet.
There is no hiding place for Moyes and his Red Devils; it’s make or break.
The Premier League giants seemed dead and buried, but an impressive display of wits and guts at Old Trafford turned the tie around in favour of David Moyes’s men.
An inspired hat-trick (his first in the Champions League) from Robin Van Persie was all it took.
The same, however, cannot be said about their next quarter-final opponents—Bayern Munich.
Many, including Jose Mourinho, believe that Manchester United and Chelsea are the weakest teams in the last eight of the competition. And one wouldn’t be too far from the truth if it were suggested that Manchester United, and Moyes, were hoping to land the ‘weakest’ team from the last eight.
Unfortunately for them, they tango with the defending champions.
On the basis of the Bavarians’ record in the Bundesliga, compared to the dynasty-destroying run the Red Devils are currently on in the Premier League, one would be forgiven for simply assuming the outcome of the match.
Even though the Red Devils overcame Aston Villa this weekend, they still remain down in seventh place, 17 points off league leaders Liverpool.
The Bavarians are currently top of the Bundesliga with 78 points from 28 games. Thehave already won the title and have a 25-point gap over second-placed team, Borussia Dortmund, while, in contrast the Red Devils languish, unconventionally out of the top four, in 7th position on the EPL log.
The Bavarians’ brilliant league performances have been replicated in the prestigious European competition. Their impressive performances have led to widespread conviction that they could go all the way to retain their continental crown—a feat no team has yet managed (even Guardiola’s own, iconic, Barcelona side).
Standing in their way, however, are Moyes’s boys.
After sensationally turning the Olympiakos tie around at Old Trafford, Moyes declared: “I suppose we’ll be the underdogs in the draw, but I genuinely believe we can do it.”
The Scot, drawing inspiration from Liverpool’s fairytale run in 2005, has got every right to believe and express such audacious optimism; and only time will tell the fate of both teams.
Bayern Munich, as much as they’ve looked invincible at times, have also looked disoriented too—especially in defence.
Arsenal’s resilient display, over both legs in the round of 16 (even though they eventually crashed out), exposed the frailties of the Bayern Munich team. The optimism (or hope), therefore, lies within the mature, experienced and determined firepower Manchester United can boast. They can surely expose and exploit the weak links in the opposition and punish the Bavarians. In doing so, however, they have to zip-it-up at the back to avoid getting torn apart themselves.
So far, it has been a season to forget for Moyes and the Manchester United faithful. But like the popular saying goes, “it is not over until it’s over.” The Red Devils have been battered and bruised, badly, but they are certainly not out of the race for European glory, at least, not yet.
There is no hiding place for Moyes and his Red Devils; it’s make or break.
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