Some room to breathe, but still long way to go

To revert the humiliating scoreline at home on Sunday and advance to the last eight of Champions League is exactly the pain relief that David Moyes desperately needs. Another loss would almost mean the exit door is open for the "Chosen One".  It has been long since there was something supporters can cheer at Old Trafford. They will make the most out of it before the tough league fixtures in the week ahead.

Ryan the Saviour

On the scoresheet, it was Robin Van Persie who duly delivered the victory for the Red Devils. In truth, Ryan Giggs was deservedly the man of the match. The legs are well gone, but not the wisdom. Being economical with his touch, he kept United's attack flowing and was often the provider of threatening passes. His pinpointed diagonal overhead passes that led to the first two goals had said it all.

Giggs turned back the clock on Wednesday

At 40 years old, Giggs took advantage of the slower pace of the European football and has been far more productive in continental competitions. Being by far the best player on Wednesday evening, on one hand David Moyes cherishes the presence of the veteran, on the other hand fans would wonder who could they turn to in the more physical Premier League.

Can they go all the way?

Despite coming back from two goals down to win the tie, Manchester United was yet to show their invincibility. Being 3-0 up, Moyes again decided to opt for a conservative approach, rather than attempting to seal the deal. A more friendly deflection for Dominguez's freekick or if not of David De Gea's superb double saves, United would have been eliminated on away goal, let alone Olympiakos had been wasteful for the whole night.

Whether it was Moyes' tactics or the team chemistry not working well, in simple terms they appear to be the weakest among the last eight in the competition. While Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Real Madrid are obviously more superior, individual flair of PSG and the pace of Dortmund could easily tear them apart. They might have a shot at Chelsea but Jose Mourinho's European experience gives Chelsea the edge. Atletico Madrid is distracted by local title race, but quality of Diego Costa, as well as the characters shown by the whole team under Diego Simeone has been sensational so far.

Maybe slightly over-optimistic

Weaker teams usually ride on strong spirit to spring a surprise. Nevertheless, inconsistency has often halted United's momentum and fails them to enjoy a long spell of victory throughout the season. The dream to qualify for next season Champions League by crowning the current campaign sounds more unrealistic than it used to be, when Sir Alex was still on the bench.

Europa maybe?

It is almost impossible to think about finishing in top four now, being 14 points away from Arsenal and Liverpool. A Europa berth at least limits the damage done this season.  Manchester City's League Cup title means the Europa place is extended to the sixth position, somewhere United would not have imagined they would finish at, not even outside. At the moment, they are three points behind Everton, who sits at sixth place with a game in hand, and are further five points away from Tottenham, a team who has a far more turbulent season than United does.

Mata: Lost

Moyes still struggles to find his best Eleven in Premier League. He could not get his new recruits going. Placing Juan Mata on the right is a strange move that never gets the best out of the Spanish, whereas Fellaini's mobility is well-exposed. Together with the aging defenders, this team is nowhere near promising.  

 Among the three in the race for Europa, Manchester United faces the toughest fixtures, having yet to be played Manchester City, Newcastle and Everton, with the latter two games away from home. The squad have the winning mentality to inspire a strong run to end the season, but from now they must treat every single match as an elimination tie. Victory in the derby next Wednesday could be the perfect catalyst.