13 December 2023 , 09:40
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Jamie Carragher accused Erik ten Hag of ‘clutching at straws’ after defending Manchester United's performance as they were dumped out of the Champions League.
Against a Bayern Munich side that had already qualified for the last 16, and who barely got out of second gear all night, United crashed out of Europe with a whimper, falling to a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford. Kingsley Coman scored the only goal of the game.
The Red Devils began the night knowing that they needed a win over the German champions to stand any chance of reaching the knockout rounds of European football’s premier club competition. But they hardly laid a glove on Bayern all night, barely testing Manuel Neuer, and ultimately finished bottom of the group - meaning they won’t even drop into the Europa League after Christmas.
All told, a side shorn of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and the still-exiled Jadon Sancho, registered just one shot on target.
Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel acknowledged United’s limitations, saying a lack of “quality and personality” in wide areas and among their attacking options off the bench helped play its part in a comfortable win for his side. But Ten Hag claimed “the performance was very good again and we didn’t deserve to lose.”
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According to Carragher, who sees his former club Liverpool host United at Anfield on Sunday, Ten Hag’s comments were little more than an exercise in damage limitation ahead of this weekend’s trip to the Premier League leaders.
“I think what happens is because it’s been so poor for Manchester United this season, you’re playing one of the top teams in Europe, you are missing injured players,” he told CBS Sports.
Jamie Carragher, speaking about Manchester United on CBS Sports (CBS Sports)“I think it’s almost a case of because you haven’t been beaten 3-0 or 4-0, 1-0 actually feels OK. You’re in the game for an hour. He’s probably watching the game thinking we’re still in this and it’s almost like a slight feel-good factor.
“Because you lose 3-0 to Bournemouth, you’re now playing one of the giants of European football and you only lose 1-0, he’s trying to take something from it to then get to Sunday.
“That will be the message to the players ‘you were playing one of the top teams in Europe anything could’ve happened, we’ve got to go to Anfield now and try to produce some sort of performance.
“A result looks really tough on paper but I think that’s just a manager trying to clutch at straws.”