Edwin van der Sar believes Manchester United's early qualification for the Champions League knockout round deserves greater recognition.

While most attention on these shores has surrounded Liverpool's plight, other famous clubs are in just as much strife.

Bayern Munich's position is no better than Liverpool's, last year's winners Barcelona are currently outside the two qualification slots, fellow La Liga side Atletico Madrid are already out, while neither AC Milan nor Real Madrid can rest easily just yet.

"The other groups are crazy," said Van der Sar.

"It used to be the case that you always wanted to be first in your group but there are a couple this time where you know already that the runners-up would bring a difficult draw in February.

"The most important thing is to get the win tomorrow and see what happens later on."