Manchester United last night reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the third successive season, but not without subjecting their supporters to several excruciating minutes of uncertainty before it could be confirmed that a draw was sufficient to ensure qualification as one of the two leading runners-up.
A goal from Roy Keane at the end of the first half promised United the victory which would end all doubts but once Bayern's Bosnian, Hasan Salihamidzic, had equalised just before the hour Old Trafford lived on its nerve ends.
For the crowd the last 20 minutes of an oddly mixed encounter offered little but mounting frustration but the Bayern bench were in close touch with events elsewhere and Alex Ferguson's body language offered several clues as to the reality of the situation. Both the United manager and Phil Neville, a substitute, sent out frequent signals which indicated they wanted the team to cool the tempo and not concede another goal.
In the end the message was taken on board. Peter Schmeichel took an age to clear the ball while the crowd, still not fully aware, implored him to release it. Bayern, for whom a draw was always going to be enough, were content to play out the closing minutes in their own half.
Thus the climax to the decisive match in Group D turned out to be about as dramatic as accountants balancing the books. With a point Bayern's safest option, the match was never going to fluctuate in the manner which had left the Nou Camp breathless when United drew 3-3 with Barcelona a fortnight earlier.
Yet Bayern showed little inclination to settle for the minimum and it was only in the latter stages that the teams signed a non-aggression pact.
United will surely want to preserve the patience they showed last night for the quarter-finals. From the outset their passing was measured without depriving Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole of the brisk service they require to use their collective speed to the best effect.
Ryan Giggs, starting his first game since recovering from a broken foot, was clearly short of match fitness and offered few glimpses of his explosive pace. Yet the consistency with which the Welshman outwitted Thomas Strunz set up several chances for United and eventually led to their goal.
Ottmar Hitzfeld, on his previous visit to Old Trafford in the Champions League two seasons ago, had seen his Borussia Dortmund team complete United's departure from the semi-finals en route to winning the tournament; on the evidence of their matches against United this season Bayern's case for becoming European champions looks less convincing.
Ferguson's forecast that Hitzfeld's side would sit back turned out to be wrong as the Germans threw men forward.
However, their centre-backs, Markus Babbel and the Ghanaian Samuel Kuffour, were almost immediately in action. After seven minutes David Beckham's pass saw Giggs set up Cole for a shot which was blocked, Yorke meeting an inviting rebound with a drive that skimmed the bar. Midway through the half Giggs squared low to Cole, who pivoted near the penalty spot and saw his shot beat Oliver Kahn only to roll the wrong side of a post.
The early cross glanced wide by Giovane Elber and a later header from Alexander Zickler cleared by Keane emphasised United's need for a goal before half-time. They just made it, Keane driving a 25-yard shot into the left-hand corner of the net after Giggs had laid the ball back from the by-line.
Ronny Johnsen, the half-time replacement for Denis Irwin, hurt in a clash of heads with Zickler, promptly wasted a chance to extend the lead. It looked even more costly in the 56th minute when Schmeichel, having just denied Kuffour, was beaten from close range by Salihamidzic after Strunz had nodded down Stefan Effenberg's corner.
Elber soon went close with a volley but there, to all intents and purposes, the contest ended as news from other fronts seeped in. Aston Villa's defeat at Chelsea completed Old Trafford's evening. Now United can spend the next three months concentrating on regaining the championship at home safe in the knowledge that they are still in the contest abroad.
Manchester Utd: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin (Johnsen 46), Stam, Beckham, Cole, Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Yorke (Butt 63), Brown. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Sheringham, P Neville, Blomqvist, Berg. Goal: Keane 43.
Bayern Munich: Khan, Babbel, Lizarazu, Kuffour, Strunz, Elber (Jancker 81), Matthaus (Linke 61), Effenberg, Jeremies, Salihamidzic, Zickler (Basler 81). Subs Not Used: Scheuer, Helmer, Tarnat, Lakis. Booked: Lizarazu. Goal: Salihamidzic 56. Referee: D Jol (Holland).
