Manchester United and Bayern Munich battled to a 1-1 draw in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday as the visitors finished with 10 men after goalscorer Bastian Schweinsteiger was sent off.
Schweinsteiger, who fired home the equaliser for the European champions in the 66th minute, was dismissed in the 90th for collecting a second yellow card for a foul on Wayne Rooney, who the Germany midfielder felt had dived.
United took the lead in the 58th minute when the unmarked Nemanja Vidic stretched to clinically head a Rooney corner past stranded goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Bayern equalised when Schweinsteiger, who will be suspended for the second leg, was left unmarked on a break and lashed the ball into the roof of David De Gea's net after substitute Mario Mandzukic nodded a cross from Rafinha into his path.
United had the ball in the net after five minutes when Danny Welbeck slammed home a rising shot from 15 metres but Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo had already ruled that Welbeck raised his foot too high in a challenge with Javi Martinez.
After that scare Bayern established a grip on the game and created seven scoring chances in the opening 35 minutes as defenders David Alaba and Rafinha poured forward to support the attack and they looked sharper to the ball than the home side.
The best chance of Bayern's dominant spell came after 31 minutes when winger Arjen Robben was allowed too much space by the United defenders and De Gea had to dive full length to beat away the Dutchman's inswinging shot.
Welbeck then had a clear opportunity to open the scoring after 40 minutes. Rooney found his fellow England striker with a low through ball which defender Jerome Boateng attempted to block but fell over instead.
That allowed Welbeck time and space to beat Neuer but his weak chip gave the keeper the chance to make the save.
Both teams carved out more openings in the second half with Bayern nearly grabbing a late winner when a centre from Robben sped across an open goal with no-one on hand to tap it home.
FULL TIME
United 1 (Vidic 57") Bayern 1 (Schweinsteiger 66")
United, playing with their backs to the wall for major part of the match, surprisingly went ahead through a header from Nemanja Vidic.
Their joy was however short-lived when Bastian Schweinsteiger equalised for the European Champions but the Bundesliga champions will have to play their home match without their goalscorer who was red-carded and Javi Martinez, who received his second yellow.
Bayern will have to make do without Schweinsteiger and Martinez for their home match.
88" RED! Schweinsteiger is red carded for a dangerous tackle on Rooney.87" YELLOW! Martinez is helpess as he makes a desperate attempt to stop Hernandez from making a solo run and brings him down.
84" With six minutes remaining Moyes is trying everything to get another goal as he brings in Javier Hernandez for Welbeck.
83" Mandzukic is cautioned after an elbow hit to Vidic while both players went for a header.
81" Looks like Bayern are keen on adding to their tally as Robben beats the defence to find Ribery come dashing in only to put his angled shot a bit wide.
80" Ten minutes plus stoppage time to go for United to make something happen else it will be tough next week at the Allianz Arena.
77" Robben tries with his weaker right foot and although beats de Gea with his feeble kick it misses the target by inches.
72" Substitutions: Ashley Young comes in for Buttner while Mario Gotze replaces Kroos.
70" Robben comes close with his curling shot from the right but misses.
United 1 (Vidic 57") Bayern 1 (Schweinsteiger 66")
66" GOAL! Bayern get the equaliser and thanks to Mandzukic who makes his presence felt immediately by heading to Schweinsteiger who slots the ball to the roof of the net.
63" A powerful shot from 30 yards by Boateng is well collected by de Gea.
60" Bayern look rattled by this goal as Schweinsteiger is shown the yellow and immediately Muller makes way for Mario Mandzukic.
United 1 (Vidic 57") Bayern 0
57" GOAL! Nemanja Vidic comes up with a spectacular goal from a corner to put United ahead.
50" United step on the gas and put some pressure on Bayern. Better than the first half.
48" Bayern make their intentions clear after the breather as Scheweinsteiger takes a crack at the goal but is wide off target.
46" United make a change here bringing Shinji Kagawa for the veteran Ryan Giggs.
Manchester United survived a torrid spell from Bayern Munich in the first half and also had their best possible chance to take the lead but both teams failed to break the 45-minute deadlock in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at the Old Trafford on Tuesday night.
Bayern expectedly had more of the ball and should have scored early but Thomas Muller, coming in for Mario Mandzukic, looked like a rabbit caught by the headlights, as he let go a good chance after Philipp Lahm put him on the path to score.
But despite dominating Bayern failed to find the net and instead it was United who could have gone ahead after Wayne Rooney found Danny Welbeck with a lovely through ball. Welbeck beat Boateng to the ball and with only Manuel Neuer at his mercy tried to chip it over but the German goalkeeper used his long hands to push the ball away.
Welbeck could have done better here to dodge Neuer and score. United could rue this miss as they had their backs to the wall for the entire first half.
United 0 Bayern 0
42" Welbeck is again denied by Neuer but this time he is pulled up for a foul.
39" Welbeck misses what was a golden opportunity which United will rue. A superb through ball from Rooney saw Welbeck in the clear and only Neuer to beat. He tried the chip shot which Neuer got a hand to and saved Bayern from surprisingly going down after dominating for long spells.
35" Phil Jones clears just in time before Muller can get to the ball in front of goal.
32" United seem to have hit the panic button as Buttner back-passes to De Gea who is forced to clear in a jiffy.
31" It has taken United over half an hour to have a first crack at the Bayern goal but Welbeck's kick is too poor to trouble Neuer.
30" What a save! De Gea saves United early blushes by diving full length to parry Robben's 25 yard bullet.
29" United look vulnerable and despite getting the ball are finding ways to hand it over to Bayern.
26" David Alaba skims a cross right across the face of goal as Bayern continue to dominate. The German side are so fluid leaving United chasing shadows.
20" United are unable to string up a good move. The moment they get the ball when it is stolen from them by a Bayern player.
18" Robben and Ribery are running the United defence ragged with their sublime passes but are yet to find the net.
15" YELLOW! Bayern are holding 70% possession of the ball and that seems to have taken a toll on United as Valencia is shown the yellow card for a tackle on Lahm.
13" United goal under threat after Bayern get two corners but manage to stave off danger after a lot of mis-kicking in the box.
11" Robben finds Lahm on the right who crosses from the touchline but Muller is all at sea right in front of the United goal. It should have been a goal.
9" United try to keep the pressure on Bayern with long balls into their area.
6" United under pressure as Bayern are playing some lovely one-touch football.
3" Danny Welbeck does well to beat Javi Martinez and slots it home but Spanish referee Carlos Velasco thought he had raised his boot too high to Martinez's head which looked dangerous.
2" Bayern show early control with two forays into the Utd danger zone but yet to threaten the goal.
And here we go as the match gets under way at Old Trafford.
Bayern ready to get the game started.
Alexander Buttner got the nod from Moyes in place of the suspended Patrice Evra while Rio Ferdinand and Bayern defender Javi Martinez are both one booking away from missing the second leg.
TEAMS
Man Utd: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Buttner, Valencia, Carrick, Fellaini, Giggs, Rooney, Welbeck.
Subs: Lindegaard, Hernandez, Nani, Young, Fletcher, Kagawa, Januzaj.
Bayern Munich: Neuer, Rafinha, Javi Martinez, Boateng, Alaba, Robben, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Ribery, Kroos, Muller.
Subs: Starke, Van Buyten, Mandzukic, Shaqiri, Pizarro, Gotze, Hojbjerg.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
STAT ATTACK
Man Utd have kept a clean sheet in 5 of their last 6 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).
Bayern are undefeated in 12 of their last 13 matches in the Champions League (including qualifiers).
Manchester United: Patrice Evra is suspended so Alexander Buttner will start at left-back. Rafael has declared himself fit, while Chris Smalling and Jonny Evans both face late fitness tests.
Antonio Valencia missed the win over Aston Villa at the weekend with a knee injury, but Nani was back in the squad and will be available again here.
Shinji Kagawa could start with Juan Mata cup-tied and Robin van Persie injured, though David Moyes may be keen to add a more defensive central midfielder against Bayern's talented team.
Bayern: Dante misses out through suspension so Javi Martínez will play at centre-back. Thiago Alcantara 'partially tore' a ligament in his knee at the weekend and will be out for 6 to 8 weeks.
Philipp Lahm was amongst those rested at the weekend and he could play in central midfield.
PREVIEW
The Old Trafford has been their fortress which they have done well to protect so far winning their first four home matches in the competition.
Agreed, they were comprehensively outplayed by local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City recently in their own den but that was in the Premier League.
The Champions League is a different ball game which brings out the best in them. And, although the Red Devils are going through one of their worst spells under David Moyes in his first season, this remains the only competition where, if they manage to go all the way, could salvage some pride for themselves and their myriad fans and probably save Moyes his job.
The tie brings together two teams who have lifted the European Cup eight times between them and they met in the 1999 final in Barcelona when United snatched an extraordinary 2-1 victory from the jaws of defeat with two-stoppage-time goals.
It won’t be easy though this time as Bayern are a different side having won the Bundesliga title with seven games to spare in the German League which says a lot.
United are also without the injured Robin van Persie, whose hat-trick at home against Olympiakos Piraeus brought them to the quarters after losing the away leg 2-0.
Their dismal record in the Premier League where they languish in seventh place too does not augur well. It’s a far cry from the days when they ruled the roost under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The 20 times English Premier League champions will have to bank on the maverick Wayne Rooney to bail them out from what looks like a tight corner.
Rooney seems to have come out of the shadow of van Persie and excelled in his last match against Aston Villa with two goals. The Red Devils will want a performance like that, if not better, from him to wrest the initiative before they take on Bayern at the Allianz Arena next week.