Final berth is no foregone conclusion, says Fletcher

DARREN FLETCHER is confident Manchester United will not get ahead of themselves by believing they are assured of a Champions League final berth.

United managed to avoid favourites Barcelona in yesterday’s quarter-final draw and also landed in the other half to Arsenal and Inter Milan.

It means if Bayern Munich can be beaten in the last eight, French opposition will await in the semi-final as Lyon and Bordeaux do battle in an all-Gallic affair.

Unsurprisingly, United’s odds to make their third successive final have tumbled dramatically, but Fletcher is not getting carried away.

“You can be too presumptuous and start looking too far ahead,” he said. “People can say various things about the draw but the fact is these teams are in this competition because they have beaten big sides along the way.

“You don’t get to the quarter or semi-final of the Champions League by being a poor side.

“The warning sides are there. If you go into a tie underestimating a team like Lyon for instance, you will be out.”

Behind Barcelona, Fletcher rates Bayern the equal of any team in the competition.

It did not appear that way midway through the group phase, when Bayern had collected just four points from four games.

But they hammered Juventus in Turin to reach the last 16 and one-time United target Arjen Robben scored a stunning goal in Florence as Bayern beat Fiorentina on away goals in the last round.

With Franck Ribery in his squad as well, Louis van Gaal has plenty of pace with which to attack United from the flanks, while Marc van Bommel and Phillipp Lahm provide experience in midfield, even if German international Bastian Schweinsteiger will be suspended for the first leg at the Allianz Arena on March 30.

“It is a tough draw,” Fletcher added. “Outside of Barcelona it is probably as tough as you could have got.

“We played them in pre-season and we were very impressed with them under Louis van Gaal.

“Since Christmas they have hit a bit of form. They have understood the way van Gaal wants them to play.

“In Robben and Ribery they have two of the best wingers in world football and are definitely a real danger in the tournament.”

Holders Barcelona will face Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals in a re-run of the 2006 final — and sporting director Txiki Beguiristain does not expect either side to curb their attacking instincts.

The winners will play either Inter or CSKA in the last four.

“It‘s a great tie,” Beguiristain said. “We are two teams who don’t shut up shop and play long ball football, and this tie will be nice for the fans.

“It will be a good spectacle and we’ll see if we are a little stronger than them. In any case, the best news is knowing that we will be playing the return leg at home. We are strong at home and we’ve shown that.”

Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas was on Barca’s books as a youngster and has regularly been linked with a return to the Nou Camp, while Thierry Henry played in the 2006 final for the Gunners.

“Cesc returns to the Nou Camp but Thierry Henry will also face his former team and that makes it even more interesting,” Beguiristain added.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger added: “I believe we will not be favourites but for me it will be a 50-50 game. That’s how we have to take it. Of course they are a good side, so are we.

“It will be an interesting, exciting game. We have to make sure we have the belief and focus right.”

Bordeaux president Jean-Louis Triaud was disappointed with a draw which guarantees a French team in the last four for the first time since 2004.

“I’m a little bit disappointed,” he said. “We talked a lot about it before, about the possibility of this.

“But we have to take what we take and we just have to get on with it and deal with it.

“It’s going to be a great night and means there will be a French team in the semi-finals and that’s something for French football to celebrate.”

Inter will be hot favourites to make it through against a CSKA side who have never been to this stage of the competition before.

But general director Ernesto Paolillo believes Jose Mourinho’s men cannot afford to be over-confident, CSKA having won 2-1 away in Sevilla to progress.

“I believe the tie against CSKA is no easy match,” he said.

“It would be a mistake to underestimate them for several reasons. CSKA have just begun their campaign and they are rested and fresh and in Moscow, you play on a synthetic pitch that favours teams that have less technical quality while the more talented teams have less control of the ball.”