Fletcher: Lessons Learned - Hopefully It's True

It's not over yet, of course. Indeed, had Wayne Rooney not pulled up right at the end of the game we could say United are still favourites to progress against Bayern Munich despite losing the first leg 2-1.

The meek manner of the defeat raises questions about our concentration and hunger because it seemed that Bayern were more focused and committed. But that will be different at Old Trafford, as will everything else, says Darren Fletcher.

'It's not insurmountable,' he told manutd.com.

'Although we're disappointed to have lost two late goals, 2-1 isn't the worst result in the world.

'We now know what we have to do at home.

'We certainly respected Bayern before this match and we've still got great respect for them. They're a very good side. You don't play any bad sides in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

'We've learned a lot about Bayern and about ourselves tonight and we'll take all that into the match at Old Trafford next Wednesday.

'The Bayern midfielders pressed the ball quite quickly and got numbers behind the ball. It was difficult in there, but you expect that when you go away from home in Europe.

'We knew Bayern would have a lot of possession and we'll be looking to do the same next week. We're confident against anyone at Old Trafford.'

We knew Bayern would have a lot of possession - well, they shouldn't have had against Carrick, Scholes and Fletcher. Van Bommel is a destroyer, Pranjic has been hopeless all season - we had better players in the middle of the park and even with Altintop and Ribery both coming inside frequently we often outnumbered Bayern there. Yet we did not press with the same intensity and did not pass the ball with the same crispness and accuracy.

And please don't tell me that Scholes and Carrick are not good passers. Because I will laugh. There were tactical problems - midfielders deployed way too deep - and mental problems: lack of commitment and concentration. Now we must not lose against Chelsea and we must beat Bayern next week. On these two games hinges our season. Two convincing wins and we'll be flying - a defeat and then a draw would virtually end our season.

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