Football: Giggs' Loyalty Fails to Hide Pain of Defeat ; Champions' League History Suggests That Even This Resilient United Side Are Unlikely to Overturn First-Leg Defeat to Germans. by Glenn Moore

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THAT Manchester United's Ryan Giggs should commit to a new five- year contract on the same day that Bayern Munich's Stefan Effenberg announced his desire to leave German football suggests the long- term future of the Premiership leaders is a lot brighter than that of their Bundesliga counterparts.

However, after their 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on Tuesday night, the German champions clearly have much the better short-term prospects when it comes to gaining a place in the European Cup semi- finals.

If Manchester United are to overturn their quarter-final, first- leg deficit they will have to match an achievement only managed by one club in the eight years since …