5 talking points as Man Utd lamely limp out of Europe after Bayern Munich defeat
Manchester United were supposed to come out swinging, but failed to even throw a punch as Bayern Munich claimed a comfortable victory to knock the hosts out of the Champions League.
United came into the game at Old Trafford knowing they had to beat Bayern to stand any chance of progressing. They ended the night having barely laid a glove on their opponent in a miserable result which sees them drop out of European competition altogether, finishing bottom of Group A, behind Bayern, Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
Kingsley Coman scored the game's only goal, breezing through the middle of the United defence to slot past Andre Onana in the second half. United's task wasn't made any easier by the absences of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial and the in-game injuries to Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, but there was no urgency as the game slipped away from them in a seventh defeat at Old Trafford already this season. Here are the talking points from Mirror Football....
Maguire turnaround complete
At the start of the season, Maguire found himself out of the side, stripped of the captaincy and available for transfer. It was a rotten start to the campaign for the England defender, but to his credit he has knuckled down and worked his way back.
With Lisandro Martinez out injured and Raphael Varane too often unavailable, Maguire has stood tall in recent weeks. His progress was shown when he was named Premier League player of the month for November.
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Harry Maguire went off with a groin injury (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)The extent of his narrative arc was shown when he went down injured in the first half against Bayern. The United centre-back immediately kicked the ball out and the grimace on his face told the story. He reluctantly dragged himself off the pitch, with Jonny Evans replacing him, and he was treated to a standing ovation from the Old Trafford crowd. United will hope his groin injury isn’t serious.
Need for a striker obvious
United paid Atalanta £64million and owe a further £8m in add-ons for Hojlund. They bought potential and that potential remains for the Denmark international, but his rawness is obvious. On a night when both Rashford and Martial were missing through a mystery illness, Hojlund’s inexperience was all too obvious.
Rasmus Hojliund struggled to make an impact (PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images)In the first half he had just nine touches – the fewest of any outfield player on either side – completed four passes and didn’t manage a single shot on goal. Up against Dayot Upamecano and Kim Min-Jae, he looked like a 20-year-old rookie striker trying his best but not up to the standard required to breach a top-class defence.
United are understood to be targeting a new striker in 2024, having identified the need for reinforcements up front. Brentford's Ivan Toney, RB Leipzig’s Timo Werner and Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy are all being scouted.
Bayern show their class
Kingsley Coman breezed through the United defence to make it 1-0 (PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images)The visitors came into this game already assured of top spot in Group A. They knew they were sailing into the last 16 of the Champions League, like they always do. They were disappointing from an attacking perspective – right up until they weren’t.
Having been cruising along in third gear, Bayern turned it on, with Coman exchanging some passes with Leon Goretzka and Harry Kane to breeze right through the middle of the United defence and find the corner.
As poor as United have been in the Champions League this season, Bayern are an utter juggernaut at this stage of the competition. Coming into this game they had won eight straight away Champions League matches, scoring twice in each of them, while they had a ridiculous record of 39 games unbeaten in group games, stretching back to 2017.
This was a run of the mill result. It was expected. Ultimately, Thomas Tuchel will be judged on his work against sides much more competent than United.
Pressure increases on Ten Hag
Erik ten Hag is under huge pressure (PETER POWELL/AFP via Getty Images)Rashford, Martial, Martinez, Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro may all have been available, but ultimately there will be no excuses for Ten Hag. Having managed Ajax, he knows the deal. Manchester United have slumped out of the Champions League. They won't even drop into the Europa League.
They have finished behind Copenhagen and Galatasaray. That is simply unacceptable for a United manager, especially when the team sit sixth in the Premier League and were recently played off the pitch by Bournemouth.
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Ten Hag's position is increasingly uncertain due to the fact that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is hovering in the background, his deal for 25 per cent of the club looming large in the thoughts of everyone at the club. Ratcliffe is a United fan, but he is a businessman first. Sir Dave Brailsford has carried out an audit and if they think the business will run better with a different manager in charge, then that will happen.
Blunt in attack
Manchester United slumped out of Europe with a whimper (James Gill/Getty Images)It wasn't just Hojlund who struggled. It was the entire Manchester United side who failed to summon the quality and determination to make a game of things. Bruno Fernandes had the best chance of the game for United, but skied Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cut-back on the edge of the area.
As the game wore on, the result seemed inevitable and accepted. The crowd faded, Bayern fans chanted about "football coming home" and United shrunk. Their solitary shot on target came in the first half, when Shaw let fly from distance and Manuel Neuer pushed it away easily. That was it.
Alejandro Garnacho was bright at times and tested the outstanding Kim with a low cross in the second half. But Antony was anonymous and the substitutes, Facundo Pellistri and Hannibal Mejbri, made no difference as United succumbed to yet another defeat.
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