Darren Gibson issues title warning to pacesetters United

He said: "It's really disappointing but we've got to pick ourselves up for the weekend because we're still in the race for the championship.

"The sending-off was a massive turning point. They had the extra man and we had to sit back and defend for most of the half.

"We got put under a lot of pressure and having played a lot of games lately, we got tired. But the only thing we can do now is pick ourselves up. Do we lie down and let the whole season go, or do we stand up and fight and go for the title?

"We have got the experience in the dressing room to stand up. We've been in this situation before. With Rafa being sent off in the second half, it killed us a bit and everyone is devastated.

"The whole world probably thought we were going to go through at 3-0. But through silly mistakes we're out.

"I would rather have not scored and gone through. But we have got the characters in the dressing room and the experience. They have done it before and I think we'll be all right."

Robben, who missed the first leg between the teams because of a calf injury, ranked the goal at Old Trafford as one of the best he has scored in his career. The winger spent three stop-start seasons at Chelsea before moving to Real Madrid and then joining Bayen in the summer.

He smashed the ball home in the 74th minute after being found straight from a corner by Franck Ribery and said: "That goal, I have to put it high on the list because it was an important one and it took us to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

"We practise set-pieces but not normally like that. I'd had eye contact with Franck Ribery so I knew where he was going to put the corner. I saw the ball from a long way out, tried to hit it with technique and not so much power. It went perfectly."

United, who gambled by starting Wayne Rooney a week after he injured his right ankle, led 2-0 after seven minutes from goals by Gibson and Nani.
The Portugal striker added another in the 41st minute before Ivica Olic pulled one back for Bayern just before half-time.

"After 3-0 I thought it was going to be a very long evening but the goal from Olic gave us confidence," Robben added. "They were a lot better in the first half."

Sir Alex Ferguson was furious with Bayern's players for surrounding the referee before Da Silva was sent off for a second booking after he pulled back Ribery. The United boss claimed it was "typical Germans", even though Ribery is French.

Ferguson also denied that his decision to select Rooney was a gamble, although the striker will now miss the trip to Blackburn at the weekend.

The England international appeared to aggravate his ankle injury and spent a period of the first half hobbling around before being substituted midway through the second period but Ferguson claimed that he would be back for the Manchester derby on 17 April.

He said: "Wayne has burst a blood vessel but won't be out for too long. He went over on his ankle again, so he was unlucky. I don't think he will be in contention for Sunday."

Rooney had been expected to be sidelined until the latter stages of April but defied medics to make a swift recovery.

Ferguson added: "The medical people thought there was no danger [in playing him]. There was a couple of hard challenges on him but we expected that.

"He's just been unlucky in terms of the fact that he's gone over on his ankle again."