FIGHTING CHANCE

Manchester United have given themselves a fighting chance of reaching the semifinals of the Champions League after a 1-1 draw with Bayern Munich in the first leg. In fact, United could have won the match had they been more clinical in finishing. Danny Welbeck had the best opportunity of the match, but his effort was saved by the Bayern Munich goalkeeper. In the absence of Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney continues to remain as the importance centre forward for United. However, he missed the weekend action due to a toe injury.

Even in his absence, United were able to run out comfortable 4-0 winners over Newcastle United. They are expected to come into the second leg of the Allianz Arena with a lot of confidence after having seen several English teams avoid defeat against Bayern at this ground. Due to the injury, Rooney was a major doubt for the second leg, but David Moyes has now confirmed that the striker will play against Bayern. The 28-year-old only recently signed a new contract with the club to end any fears about leaving in the summer.

The Champions League win represents the best possible way for United to qualify for next season’s tournament. The club are seventh in the table – several points behind the top four places with only five weekends remaining.

"He will definitely play. We will do all we can to get him on the pitch. He hasn't trained the whole week, but he's willing to have an injection before the game. We haven't done anything wrong medically. He's a character. If he's determined to play, we'll let him," said Moyes. "Good training session with the lads ahead of the Bayern Munich match. It's a massive game for us against a top side but we'll be going in confident and looking to progress into the semi-finals," said Rooney.