Erik ten Hag’s choices v Bayern show how low Man Utd have sunk compared to Champions League elite

Erik ten Hag told his Manchester United players to be ‘brave’ before Tuesday’s game, that’s like asking a bear not to do the proverbial in the woods.

The Red Devils managed one shot on target all night as they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich and didn’t have an effort after the 55th minute. It’s no surprise for a side who have lacked character all season and couldn’t find a way past Bournemouth on Saturday, let alone one of the favourites to win the Champions League outright.

Bayern barely got out of second gear - they didn’t need to - and their ability to effortlessly keep the ball in the second half sucked the life out of a dejected Old Trafford crowd. “We’re the home team,” one irate supporter in the vicinity of the press box screamed as United allowed the visitors to dictate possession and the flow of proceedings.

Yet, things got worse. Kingsley Coman handed Thomas Tuchel’s side the lead in the 71st minute after he managed to stroll through the opposition defence and slot the ball beyond Andre Onana. United should have responded, instead it was Bayern who created three more chances after the goal.

After watching his side fail to lay a glove on their opponents for the final half an hour, Ten Hag somehow said in his post-match debrief that United played well. The Dutchman’s oblivious assessments are starting to become irksome, there’s only so many times fans can be told their team are playing well when they so clearly aren’t.

That’s 12 defeats for United this season from 24 games, as many as they suffered last term in 62 matches. The Red Devils also conceded 15 goals across six Champions League matches, the most any English side has ever conceded in a group stage, while the tally of four points is the lowest the club have ever recorded in a European group.

And it was an utterly bamboozling Champions League campaign from United that saw them score three respectively in Munich, Istanbul and Copenhagen, yet fail to win any of those games. United forfeited late wins in half of the group matches, while four of the six games had five or more goals, in comparison to just one domestic game this campaign with those numbers.

While Premier League outings have often been tight, scrappy affairs, the European displays tended to be pulsating and drama-filed. Nothing has made sense at United this season, although it does perhaps indicate that even mid-level Premier League sides are now technically and tactically as equipped as lower-ranking sides in the Champions League group stages.

Even Tuesday’s game defied any logic - few expected a contest with just four shots on target over 90 minutes. United fans began the night by singing about Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s exploits against Bayern in ‘99, by the end it was the away supporters who mocked their opponents, with chants of ‘is this a library?’ and ‘Football’s Coming Home’.

This season marks 25 years since Solskjaer, the Nou Camp and all that, and with every passing season United fall further behind Europe’s leading lights. This is the first campaign the Red Devils won’t play in Europe after Christmas since 2014/15, the season after United missed out on Europe altogether. 

In the nine years since, the 20-time English champions have made it to the last eight of the Champions League once. Reputationally, United may still be among the biggest on the continent, but in football terms they lag far behind.

Ten Hag’s changes even pointed to that on Tuesday, and as United pushed to find a way back into proceedings the best they could introduce from the bench were Kobbie Mainoo, Facundo Pellisitri and Hannibal, players who between them had four Champions League appearances prior to the game.

Even the starting XI was patched up and it consisted of two players Ten Hag wanted to sell last summer, one who could leave in January, an on-loan midfielder and a forward who has managed no goals or assists from 17 appearances this season. United’s squad has been decimated by injuries throughout the Champions League campaign - and two more occurred on Tuesday - but there’s a feeling after spending over £400m during Ten Hag’s stewardship that this squad needs to be gutted.

It’s more likely United will be selling than buying in January though, due to the financial implications of the team dropping out of Europe. In contrast, Copenhagen, a side with around five percent of United’s budget, may be making loftier plans after they secured second place and a spot in the Champions League last-16.

United striker Rasmus Hojlund left the Danish champions nearly two years ago and began his journey towards football’s elite. Now his younger brother can tell him what the Champions League knockout stages are like.

Hojlund had 18 touches all night against Bayern and, not in keeping with his European performances this season, struggled to get involved. Another oddity of this Champions League campaign is that Hojlund has managed five goals in six matches but is yet to net in the Premier League after 12 appearances.

“He scored five goals in the Champions League and he has to take this because I think that is a huge performance from him and it is to do with our attacking game in those games,” said Ten Hag said after Tuesday’s match. “He has to build on this into the Premier League and so that is very good.” 

Anfield on Sunday would be a good place for Hojlund to start scoring in the league and even the most optimistic fans must fear what’s in store against their old foes.

If there is one upshot of Tuesday’s elimination it’s that United should be able to focus fully on their league form going forward - only an FA Cup run could change that. A more sparsely packed calendar will help with injuries and this is a team in desperate need of more time on the training ground.

It’s the thinnest of silver linings, but for now, supporters don’t have much else to hold on to.