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Rob Dawson, Correspondent
MANCHESTER, England — It’s been a slow death for Manchester United in the Champions League, but that doesn’t make Tuesday’s exit any less embarrassing.
What started with defeat to Bayern Munich in September ended with another defeat to the Bundesliga champions, this time 1-0, in Manchester in December. But the damage wasn’t done at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but in defeats to Galatasaray in October and FC Copenhagen in November.
The bottom line is that a team that concedes 15 goals in six group stage games does not deserve to go through. United are not one of Europe’s elite and haven’t been for a while. With due respect to Copenhagen and Galatasaray, this wasn’t a group of death and yet they’ve still been killed, and comprehensively so.
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Manchester United like to think of themselves alongside Bayern and Real Madrid, but Bayern have qualified for the Champions League knockout rounds every year since 2008-09. Real Madrid’s run stretches back even further, to 1997-98. United, meanwhile, have been dumped out at the group stage four times in their last nine attempts and haven’t been past the quarterfinals in more than a decade.
To make matters worse, Copenhagen’s 1-0 win over Galatasaray in Denmark means they’ve even missed the safety net of the Europa League and, after finishing bottom of Group A, are out of Europe altogether before Christmas.
Afterwards, United boss Erik ten Hag tried to pluck out some positives but, in reality, there are none.
“There are still many things to play for and now we can focus, of course, on the Premier League,” said Ten Hag. “This is the level we want to play, the Champions League, so we have to give every effort to be in the top four and next year be back in the Champions League. Then of course, we have the FA Cup, so there are so many things to play for.
“The facts are we do not have enough points. We are disappointed as a group. As a manager, I am disappointed. We should have done better.”
In the past, Bayern Munich under the lights would have been the recipe for a famous European night at Old Trafford, but this was lacklustre at best. Despite needing to win, United managed just one shot on target and created just one clear chance for Bruno Fernandes, which he blasted over the bar.
Watching Bayern, it was tempting to think they are the team United wish they were: Confident enough to pass out from the back in tight spaces with Manuel Neuer and Kim Min-Jae, flying full-backs like Alphonso Davies, pace and creativity in Jamal Musiala and Kingsley Coman, and a world class centre-forward in Harry Kane.
Bayern, hammered 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, were not at their best and often manager Thomas Tuchel was seen twirling around on the touchline in frustration, but they still kept United at arm’s length and then some. When the Germans’ goal came — and it always looked likely — it was from a wonderful pass from Kane, flicked with the outside of his boot, and a calm finish from Coman.
Of course the move involved Kane, the player most of the 76,000 home fans inside Old Trafford thought their club should have signed in the summer.
“Harry is always a difference maker, 100%,” said Tuchel. “With his personality, his calmness, his quality, the team knows anything can happen in any minute with Harry. He is one of the top leaders in the group.”
These days, barely a United game goes by without some kind of miserable record being broken and this was no different — never before has an English team conceded this many goals (15) in the Champions League group stage. Everywhere you look there are damning statistics. United’s seventh home defeat means they’ve now lost more games this season (12) and they’ve won (11) while also matching the number of defeats in four months that Ten Hag suffered in total in his first season in charge.
After the positivity of the 3-0 win over Everton at the end of November, it’s now one win in five games and up next is a trip to Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday. It’s likely Ten Hag will have to go to Anfield — where his team were humiliated 7-0 last season — without Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw, who both suffered muscle injuries against Bayern.
“We are losing players and players who are very decisive for our game, who can make the difference and in many games it was also the case in this campaign,” said Ten Hag.
“We had not always the players available we want to play. That’s definitely a part. Now I give you a reason but don’t see it as an excuse because even when we are not all on board, we still have to win because they are targets that belong to Manchester United.”
As the clock ticked down and Ten Hag’s team slipped out of the Champions League with a whimper, the Bayern fans in the corner of Old Trafford spotted the first fans heading for home and waved them off with an accompanying chant of “Auf Wiedersehen.“
A few minutes later, the final whistle blew and United, surrounded by boos from the supporters who stayed, officially waved goodbye to Europe for another season. Once one of the best on the continent, they face a long road back.