Man United’s season already falling apart after Bayern loss

MUNICH — It says the whole lot about Manchester United’s present state that Bayern Munich did not play significantly effectively of their opening Champions League group recreation on Wednesday, however the Bavarians nonetheless scored 4 objectives, might have scored extra, and gained way more comfortably than the 4-3 rating prompt.

It additionally says the whole lot about United’s marketing campaign to date that, after three straight defeats and 4 of their previous 5 video games, Saturday’s journey to Burnley, who’ve managed a solitary Premier League level to date this season, is now one full of trepidation.

We’re not even into October and it already looks like a must-win recreation. Burnley are among the many lowest scorers within the league, however this can be a United defence that seems incapable of conserving anybody out.

For the primary time since 1978, Man United have conceded not less than three objectives in three consecutive video games, and 14 in complete in simply six video games to start out the season.

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It did not assist that André Onana, the £47.2 million summer time signing from Inter Milan, made a horrible mistake for Bayern’s first purpose, however Man United supervisor Erik ten Hag ought to rely himself lucky that the German champions had been usually sloppy within the last third. They hit the submit twice and a number of other occasions all through the night time there have been pissed off groans from the house followers after one other good likelihood was wasted.

This wasn’t a seven-goal Champions League thriller — it was United hanging on for expensive life.

“We are disappointed,” admitted Ten Hag. “When you score three goals in Munich you have to take a point and you have to look in the mirror because the goals were easy giveaways.

“What you’ve got seen on a really excessive degree — it was in opposition to Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Brighton, all top-level groups — we go head-to-head however they win. In the way in which they win, now we have to make our personal luck and that has to do with dedication. You make your individual luck, in any other case you do not get it as a result of nobody will carry you something in soccer.”

No one seems to do misfortune quite like United, and this time it was Onana’s turn. Bayern, who haven’t lost a group stage game at the Allianz Arena for nearly 10 years, didn’t need any help from the visitors, but they got it anyway.

Midway through the first half, a positive start from Ten Hag’s team was undone when Harry Kane, a player many United fans think their club should have signed this summer, laid off a pass to Leroy Sané on the edge of the box and his weak shot straight at Onana squirmed under the Cameroon goalkeeper. Sane seemed as surprised as anyone to discover it had gone in as Onana lay motionless, his face buried in the turf.

“We had been, within the first 25 minutes, higher within the recreation than Munich after which that purpose, it was really easy and it was not solely Andre,” said Ten Hag. “If you see how simple Sane was going via and that has to do with dedication, you do not let gamers via really easy. That is the purpose now we have to cross the road as a person and a staff to win video games as a result of it began there.”

Along with the many criticisms that can be aimed at this group of players, a big one is that they don’t deal well with setbacks, and again the problem surfaced.

Already this season, they’ve conceded twice in two minutes against Nottingham Forest and twice in five minutes against Arsenal. Here, it was two goals in four minutes when Jamal Musiala found Serge Gnabry unmarked in the box and he whipped his finish into the corner. Bayern looked disjointed for large spells of the first half, managed only two shots on target, but scored twice.

It summed up United’s half that, as Onana trudged off down the tunnel, he was thrown a water bottle by a member of staff and dropped it.

There were positives in the second half, particularly a first goal for Rasmus Hojlund and a large enough show of character to allow Casemiro to score twice late on, but you never sensed United were about to snatch a point.

Bayern led 2-0, 3-1 and 4-2 and would have been out of sight had Onana not redeemed himself slightly with a couple of good saves. Kane said afterward that Bayern “misplaced their focus” at the end but “managed the vast majority of the sport,” and it was onerous to argue.

In making sense of this loss, Ten Hag would possibly level to a harsh VAR penalty, scored by Kane, following a debatable Christian Eriksen handball and a squad so skinny that he picked three goalkeepers on the bench. But the reality is his staff had been largely brushed apart by a Bayern aspect nonetheless looking for their circulation.

United, in the meantime, are left to go to Burnley in the hunt for a spark to jolt their season into life.