Just as Manchester United thought they’d turned a corner with a hard-fought win over Chelsea, Bournemouth quickly brought them back to reality on the weekend with a 0-3 thumping at Old Trafford. Erik ten Hag’s side would need to muster up a win against German giants Bayern Munich on Tuesday to stand any chance of European progression.
MUN: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Varane, Shaw, McTominay, S Amrabat, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho, Højlund
FCB: Neuer, Mazraoui, Upamecano, Kim Min-jae, Davies, Kimmich, Goretzka, Coman, Musiala, Sané, Kane
The first half was largely a tight affair defined by half-chances. Leroy Sané probably had the best of those, drifting into the box past a few players – and he should’ve taken the initiative, but instead, he layed it off for Jamal Musiala whose effort was blocked by Diogo Dalot.
Luke Shaw saw space to thunder a long-range effort towards goal and Manuel Neuer did well to punch it over, though it was never a danger to the German legend in reality.
Sané’s second opening came when Coman whipped a ball into the box, but the winger couldn’t make the connection he needed, slashing his shot off-target after a horrendous miscue.
After thirty-six minutes of play, United were hit with bad news as Harry Maguire pulled up with an injury – before being replaced by Jonny Evans just three minutes later after his inability to continue became apparent.
The first chance of the second half fell to Bruno Fernandes, when Aaron Wan-Bissaka dragged the ball back to the edge of the box – but unfortunately for the skipper, his shot landed in the stands before he mustered a second off-target attempt minutes later.
A nice, neat move with a flick around the corner from Harry Kane found Kingsley Coman in empty space, as United’s defenders failed to identify his run. With the goal at his mercy, he smashed past a helpless André Onana to put the visitors ahead with twenty minutes left to play.
Embed from Getty ImagesAt the end of the ninety minutes, Manchester United had been unable to score – meaning their 2023/24 UEFA Champions League run comes to an end. It’s a result that piles further pressure onto Erik ten Hag and his coaching staff.
