Manchester United's European campaign has been brought to a premature end, finishing bottom of their Champions League group after a 1-0 defeat at home to Bayern Munich this evening.
Erik ten Hag's men came into this game knowing a victory would be needed if they were to have any chance of advancing to the knockout rounds, although even that might not be enough if the result went against them in the other game of the night.
From the outset of this game, that always looked like an unlikely outcome.
Manchester United put in a reasonable performance in the first half, although they never really looked like winning the game. That is despite the fact that they come up against a Bayern Munich team who were very clearly playing in second gear, with this being a meaningless game for the Bavarian side.
They followed that up with a very poor second half, with Kingsley Coman's goal condemning them to their fourth defeat of the group.
The goal that officially ends Manchester United's European hopes? ⚽️
Kingsley Coman strolls through the middle of the United defence to give Bayern Munich the lead 💥#UCL pic.twitter.com/vUj9dM3qmt— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2023
Of course, even a victory would not have been enough due to Copenhagen's victory over Galatasaray in the other game. It would have secured them a spot in the Europa League, although many might feel that they may better served being eliminated from Europe altogether.
Still, this was nowhere near good enough.
Tonight was certainly a grim reminder of the fairly dire situation they currently find themselves in.
READ HERE: Gary Neville Has Major Worry If One Scenario Occurs When Liverpool Host Manchester United
Erik ten Hag give questionable summary of Manchester United loss to Bayern
Considering what was on the line, this was an incredibly drab performance from Manchester United.
They came up against a Bayern Munich side who were clearly not going at full tilt, but never really laid a glove on them. One shot on target in the whole 90 minutes is nowhere near good enough.
Despite this, Erik ten Hag was fairly pleased with the performance.
Speaking on TNT Sports after the game, he said he felt his side did not deserve to lose the game.
"We didn't make it... we have to accept and learn from it!" 💪
Erik ten Hag refuses to have a negative mindset, after Manchester United finished bottom of their Champions League group 🧠 #UCL | 🎙 @julesbreach pic.twitter.com/R6Fqv8wXKy— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 12, 2023
I think we had some good performances (in this season's Champions League). We also made some individual mistakes, individual errors from some players. In the end it's not good enough.
I think today the performance again was very good. We didn't deserve to lose, but we lost the game...
The team did very good. We were very good in our defensive organisation, very good in the pressing, we had many ball reclaims, especially in the second half.
We didn't take enough benefit from it. That's the truth, we have to see that.
We also played against a strong side. We have to see that as well. Bayern are a good team. Even when they are not in a game, they have the individual class to use one moment. Unfortunately, that happened...
The players gave everything, you saw the spirit. I really have to credit the team and pay compliment to the way they worked together as a team against a good Bayern side.
When the game is going, you need energy from the bench. In the front line, the options were limited...
We played some good football in the Champions League. For example, Ramsus Hojlund scored five times. We have to take that into the Premier League, that counts for the whole team.
Erik ten Hag may have been pleased with aspects of the Manchester United performance tonight, but it seems generous to describe this as a strong display from his side. His summary of Bayern springing from nowhere to score the winning goal certainly did not fit the story of the game, one which the away side controlled from start to finish.
His claim that United deserved a draw also seems wide of the mark when you compare the chances created by the two sides. They had an xG of 0.27 in comparison to Bayern's 1.40.
This was probably an attempt from the Dutchman to raise the morale of his players ahead of a difficult looking trip to Anfield this weekend. That is fair enough, but the truth of the matter was that this was another poor overall performance from his side.
SEE ALSO: Stephen Kelly Says Misunderstood Candidate Would Be Ideal Fit As Ireland Manager
