Manchester United finished bottom of their Champions League group after defeat to German giants Bayern.
Bad result, bad performance
Last night’s game was undoubtedly a very high pressure situation for the entire Manchester United footballing institution. After a recent cup exit and a string of poor and concerning performances, the blocks are certainly being stacked on the manager’s funeral pyre. The players didn’t cover themselves in glory either with just one shot on target in the entirety of the game.
The team sheet was a forced one to begin with, riddled with injuries as we have been for most part of the season.
Things got worse when Maguire was forced off after what seemed a pretty solid welcome pairing between Varane and himself. Bayern never seemed in any trouble and hardly played out of second gear and still ended up fending off our toothless attack.
Performances further dropped as the clock ticked on and frustration kicked in. The lack of self belief was so evident and once Copenhagen had scored you could feel it was only a matter of time before they gave up completely.
Inevitably, Bayern scored the winning goal on 71 minutes; running in behind our hapless defence and dumping us out of Europe.
One might argue it’s the only possible silver lining but that would only be the case if we were building in the right direction in the first place
Player ratings and Man of the Match
Onana – 6. A decent performance, not at fault for the goal.
Dalot – 5. Solid but not creative enough going forward.
Maguire – 6. Dependable yet again but went off in the first half with a worrying groin injury.
Varane – 6 and MOTM. Performed well on his return to the first team.
Luke Shaw – 5. The only United player with a shot on target in the first half, came off injured at half-time.
Amrabat – 4. Poor, no match Sane, Musiala et al.
McTominay – 4. As with Amrabat, no match for Bayern’s quality, little control or influence.
Antony – 3. Offered almost nothing going forward. Cuts back and rolls the ball back far too often, doesn’t look physical enough for this level.
Fernandes – 4. Missed one of United’s few big chances and cut a frustrated figure all night,
Garnacho – 6. One of our brighter players, but still a largely frustrating night.
Hojlund – 4. Didn’t get the service required, little impact.
Subs:
Evans – 6. Performed well considering the circumstances and short-notice call-up.
Wan-Bissaka – 5. A decent game – looks to be winning the Dalot/AWB at right back contest.
Mejbri – 5. Ran and showed fight but limited effectiveness.
Pellistri – 5. As above, committed but little effect.
Mainoo – 5. A ten-minute cameo.
The shadow of the ownership situation
Ownership vacuum has not been resolved leading to typical questions about transfer window deals when the team desperately lacks the right personnel. The current players look like square pegs in circular holes with no exceptions. There’s hardly been a convincing display in the last couple of months where the manager’s tactics were on point and the players translated it fully on the pitch, dominating and outclassing the opponents. Our wins have either been lucky or scrappy with losses being more convincing if anything
So, although nobody would’ve been shocked if you said that Manchester United wouldn’t have made it past the Champions League Group Stages at the beginning of the season, to finish dead bottom in a group with Galatasaray and Copenhagen conceding the number of goals we have and losing in the manner we did raises more questions than ever.
The same questions linger on and get louder. Will Eric be able to redeem himself? Is there still any unity in the dressing room or have the players given up on yet another manager? Much change is required but on which end, the players or the manager because it will not be both like the ownership has constantly proved.
It couldn’t have gotten worse with Liverpool being the next game and with so many players missing as well, it would be a miracle for United to come away with the slightest embarrassment. One thing’s for sure, media outlets are burning the midnight oil in trying to stir the “United in crisis” pot and the team needs to fight back, on the pitch, for the fans, for the club, for their own pride at least. Make no mistake, Erik Ten Hag is under pressure.
