Bayern Munich dominated the ball but David Moyes got the tactics right for Manchester United in 1-1 draw

When the final whistle blew, there was a shake of the head from David Moyes and a look of disappointment. No surprises there, you might think.

But the source of the Manchester United manager’s frustration was that his side had come away from their Champions League quarter-final first leg with just a 1-1 draw against tournament favourites Bayern Munich. It was some effort.

Indeed, despite his demeanour, the night should be regarded as something of a triumph for Moyes. In this season that might optimistically be referred to as one of transition, he picked a team to do the job in the here and now - and meet the specific demands of the occasion.

Reminder

Nemanja Vidic is exiting for Italy in the summer but gave a reminder of the void he will leave. Rio Ferdinand and Ryan Giggs are also surely in their final campaign, but were both called upon as Moyes selected a line-up of which the majority had started the 2011 Champions League final.

Even if that wasn’t enough to spark belief outside of Old Trafford, Pep Guardiola had been respectful in the build-up. “I see very good players,” he said. “I don't know why United haven't played well in the league, but over one game or two games, they can beat us.”

And the English champions produced an admirable performance to justify that view. United were an intermittent attacking threat and consistently solid defensively… They certainly had plenty of defending to do.

In terms of possession, Bayern were utterly dominant. With 74 per cent of possession and 767 passes to the home side’s 249, the passing gulf was alarming. Like the possession stat, United’s passing accuracy of just 66.7 per cent was the lowest since Opta records began.

So accustomed have we become to this carousel of passing from Pep Guardiola’s teams in recent years, that it is easy to become desensitised to the numbers. And yet, the visual effect is stunning. Expensively assembled opponents are reduced to bystanders – or even worse, looking like the victims of some cruel prank.

Threat

But United defended stoutly and retained just enough of a threat on the counter-attack to convince - themselves as much as anyone else - that the plan was worth persevering with, the shape must be maintained and the runners should continue to be tracked.

Indeed, after seeing a Danny Welbeck goal disallowed for a high foot, it was United who created the stand-out chance of the first half – with the same player making a mess of a one-on-one situation with Manuel Neuer. Put through by Rooney, Welbeck tried to be too cute by far in lofting the ball over the advancing keeper when a crisp side-foot would surely have done the job.

Much like the slow realisation among Norman Mailer and the press corps in Zaire when Muhammad Ali ‘rope-a-doped’ his way past George Foreman in ’74, it was a moment to lift the scales from the eyes. For all Bayern’s pounding dominance, here was something of a beautiful illusion. In the first half, the visitors had just five touches of the ball in the central area of United’s box – exactly the same number as their opponents. And Moyes’ men had fashioned the one clear chance.

Indeed, United looked in their element. “He’s not a front foot manager like Sir Alex Ferguson was,” Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has recently claimed. Of course, he was right th