In the fickle world of football Manchester United may never be more than 90 minutes away from the next crisis, and for as long as the case for their defence remains indefensible they will continue to be plagued by the feelings of uncertainty they left with from Bavaria last night.
Four minutes from recording what would have been a famous victory over their old adversaries, courtesy of Ruud van Nistelrooy's 11th goal of the season, an amateurish mistake from Mikael Silvestre presented the European Cup holders with a charitable draw to leave Alex Ferguson with yet more worries about the vulnerabilities of his side at the back.
The irony was that Silvestre, a half-time substitute for Denis Irwin, had fashioned United's goal with a fine surge from defence, but the erratic Frenchman was clearly culpable for Bayern's equaliser when he recklessly lunged at a free ball, missing completely and leaving Paolo Sergio with a clear run at goal. The Brazilian was in no mood to take pity on the defender's error.
Defeats breed anxiety, and however much Ferguson denounces his critics it is inescapable that, home and abroad, his players have taken on self-destructive tendencies this season that threaten to undermine his final year in charge.
What they needed above anything else was a performance that would soothe their nerves and repair their frayed reputation. In other words, Ferguson was not only looking for United to re-establish their place at Europe's top table but to eradicate the demoralising mistakes, particularly in defence, that have become the condition rather than the exception over the last, erratic three months.
What he could not have bargained for, however, was losing Ryan Giggs yesterday morning to familiar reports of hamstring problems. Quinton Fortune is a better deputy than most, but asking him to fill the void was something akin to relying on an art student to do the job of an architect and United scarcely threatened throughout a strangely subdued opening half.
There is a powerful argument, of course, that the English champions are never more formidable than when given a licence to attack, but at least Ferguson's tactics showed an appreciation for the fact that United needed a solid base from which to work.
In a first half devoid of clear scoring chances, and with a prayer-meeting atmosphere belying the sense of occasion, Barthez's only uncomfortable moment came on the half-hour when the referee, Anders Frisk, penalised him for alleged time-wasting, much to the Frenchman's annoyance.
His blushes were spared, however, when Paul Scholes charged down the effort from Steffen Effenberg that followed the indirect free-kick.
That apart, there were only a couple more hairy moments before the interval and on both occasions Giovane Elber and Hasan Salihamidzic could not even trouble Barthez after eluding the attentions of Wes Brown and Laurent Blanc in a defence which had otherwise coped admirably.
But David Beckham, Roy Keane and Juan Sebastian Veron were rooted like stalagmites in the centre midfield, while Fortune was forced to temper his attacking instincts by helping out in defence.
United managed only one effort on goal all night, but when it arrived van Nistelrooy's predatory instincts came to the fore. Silvestre burst down the left before composing himself to send over a cross for the Dutch striker to volley home from close range.
With Bayern reeling, Roy Keane struck the crossbar shortly afterwards with a searing drive, but Silvestre's blunder gave Bayern their get-out clause.
BAYERN MUNICH: Kahn, Lizarazu, Robert Kovac, Kuffour, Sagnol, Sergio, Hargreaves, Effenberg (Sforza 66), Salihamidzic (Zickler 73), Elber (Jancker 66), Pizarro. Subs Not Used: Dreher, Fink, Tarnat, Linke. Booked: Sergio. Goals: Sergio 87.
MAN UTD: Barthez, Irwin (Silvestre 46), Blanc, Brown, Gary Neville, Fortune, Veron, Keane, Beckham, Scholes, van Nistelrooy (Yorke 85). Subs Not Used: Carroll, Butt, Phil Neville, Chadwick, Solskjaer. Booked: Brown, Blanc. Goals: van Nistelrooy 74.
Referee: A Frisk (Sweden).
