1) Is there time for United to gazump Bayern Munich?There was only one reason why the score was kept respectable and his name was Manuel Neuer.

What a pity it is for United that he seems a near-certainty to join Bayern Munich at the end of the season because, whoever Alex Ferguson signs to replace Edwin van der Sar this summer, this was an evening that left the unmistakable sense that Neuer – by all accounts, the first choice of United’s goalkeeping coach, Eric Steele – should be regarded as the best man for the job.

2) Fabio belongs at this level

Here was the biggest game of his life and the 20-year-old played with a calm that made you think back to 1999 and Ferguson’s description of Paul Scholes, in the quarter-final against Internazionale in Milan, going “into that cauldron as calmly as someone popping round the corner for a newspaper.” Fabio was quick to the ball, eager to break forward and, all in all, he demonstrated why, when he signed for the club, United’s coaching staff rated him as marginally more accomplished than his twin Rafael.

3) The team can cope ‘without’ Nani

There is every chance Nani will collect the Matt Busby player-of-the-year award for United next month, but his form over the previous eight months was still not enough to merit a place here – and it was difficult afterwards to quibble with Ferguson’s thinking. Antonio Valencia’s return has been so seamless it is easy sometimes to forget the mangled state of his leg when he broke it in two places last September. On the left, Park Ji-Sung was an elusive opponent, chasing back, running with the ball, finding space. Nani has been United’s star performer for large swathes of the season but his form has dipped since Valencia came back into the reckoning - perhaps not coincidentally.

4) Owen may have to accept the inevitable

You wonder what Michael Owen was thinking, watching the match in his suit. Even with the injured Dimitar Berbatov back in Manchester, it spoke volumes that Ferguson did not feel Owen merited a place on the bench.

5) Schalke surely cannot be this ordinary again. Or can they?

It was perplexing to think this was the same side that had put seven past the 2010 champions, Inter, over the two legs of their quarter-final. United were superior in every department. Let’s not overlook the fact Schalke scored five times at the San Siro – but that is starting to feel like it was a one-off.

Guardian Service