Bayern Munich booked their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League this evening, beating Manchester United 3-1 on the night and 4-2 on aggregate.

It was the visitors who took a surprise lead when Patrice Evra's rocket left Manuel Neuer no chance, but Bayern were back level 22 seconds later as Mario Mandzukic stole in front of Evra to nod home.

Bayern then went ahead through Thomas Muller's close-range finish before Arjen Robben sealed their place in the last four with a deflected shot from the edge of the area.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at an absorbing match at the Allianz Arena.

Match statistics

Bayern
Shots: 25
On target: 5
Possession: 65%
Corners: 11
Fouls: 10

Man Utd
Shots: 6
On target: 2
Possession: 35%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 11

Was the result fair?

Over the two legs, Bayern Munich certainly deserved to go through, but it was not as convincing as many people were expecting. Tonight's match was similar to the first leg until the opening goal, as Bayern dominated possession but seemed to lack any real cutting edge in the final third.

The game completely changed when United scored, however, as Bayern moved up a couple of gears and began to dominate proceedings. At the time of the first goal, it had been a pretty even encounter overall, despite what the possession stats would have told you, but by the final whistle there is no doubt that the hosts deserved to win.

Whether a similar performance from Bayern in the last four would be enough for them to reach a third consecutive final is up for debate, but they warranted their victory tonight and their victory on aggregate.

Bayern's performance

For the opening 57 minutes, they were far below their best. They misplaced passes, struggled to find a way through the United defence and even failed to gain a good level of control over the game - three aspects of a match that the German champions are usually excellent at doing.

However, the onus was not on them to score and they must have been holding back as, as soon as they did need a goal, they came bursting to life. Evra's thunderbolt woke the beast that is Bayern, and from that point on there was only one winner.

Mandzukic's header 22 seconds after the restart gave them a perfect response and they continued to push on for more goals even when their place in the semi-finals was all but secured. While the first 60 minutes had an air of complacency, or at least cautiousness, the final 30 minutes was more like the Bayern we are used to seeing.

Man Utd's performance

Considering that avoiding humiliation appeared to be the limit of United's ambitions when the draw was made, they can be very proud of their efforts over the tie. They matched Bayern for large parts of tonight's match and looked just as likely to score as the hosts in the opening hour.

In a strange way, Evra's goal was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to United as it shook Bayern into life and allowed them to display their superior quality. Of course, a goal was what United needed, but their failure to hold on to the lead for longer than 22 seconds meant that any momentum or belief they gained from it evaporated as quickly as it had come.

For a 3-1 defeat to Bayern to be considered a respectable result for United goes some way to showing the decline of the club and its expectations in the last season. However, the simple fact is that they are not as good as the German giants and did well to make such a good fist of the tie. If this is to be their last foray in the Champions League for a while, they can go out with their heads held high.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Arjen Robben: As is so often the case, Arjen Robben looked like the most dangerous player for Bayern tonight. The Dutch winger was a constant threat to the United defence and was the only player from the home side who really looked like creating anything in the first half.

It was Robben's cross that saw Muller poke the ball home to make it 2-1 to the hosts, while the winger also got his own name on the scoresheet to complete a fine individual performance - although the boot of Nemanja Vidic did help his shot into the bottom corner.

Biggest gaffe

There weren't many gaffes to choose from in tonight's match, so this award goes to Wayne Rooney for a wasted chance just after the hour mark. In an end-to-end period of the game, he had an opportunity to get a crucial second away goal that would have left Bayern needing two more to go through.

Welbeck squeezed the ball back to the England man inside the box, but he appeared to misjudge the pace with which it came towards him, only succeeding in helping it to safety when he was in a great position to hit the target.

Referee performance

Jonas Eriksson made a couple of minor errors today, such as showing Vidic an undeserved card and failing to penalise Philipp Lahm for a clear foul on Evra. However, he didn't have any big decisions to make and any mistakes he made did not have too great an impact on the game.

What next?

Bayern: Bayern will look to get back to winning ways in domestic action when they face second-placed Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.

Man Utd: United, meanwhile, face a tough trip to Merseyside to take on in-form Everton on Sunday.