Under pressure Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag insists his side gave Bayern Munich problems despite exiting the Champions League after a 1-0 loss.
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United crash out of Champions LeagueComan scores only goal in 1-0 lossTen Hag still defiant about his sideGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?
The Red Devils were dumped out of the Champions League on Tuesday as they were beaten by the German giants at Old Trafford thanks to Kingsley Coman's second-half strike. This was United's worst ever campaign in the competition as they set an unwanted record of shipping 15 goals in six games, and previously had never earned fewer than six points in a group stage (four). Despite that, Ten Hag felt his side caused Thomas Tuchel's men "problems" even though they had 41% possession, five shots to the visitors' 10, just one shot on target and an Expected Goals tally of 0.27 vs 1.40.
AdvertisementWHAT ERIK TEN HAG SAID
He told Peter Schmeichel on : "I think the team performance was okay. As a team our defending and pressing organisation was good. We brought Bayern problems, we kept them away from our box, and they didn't create many chances. Also we have to acknowledge we didn't create many chances but especially in the first part of the second half we created some; some from high ball regains, one was a brilliant play in the build-up through Bruno Fernandes from an Aaron Wan-Bissaka cutback. If I think about the performance I have to say it was okay but if you want to win a game you have to score a goal and then you have to have more shots on goal."
When the former United keeper suggested his old side were playing like individuals, rather than a team, Ten Hag replied: "I haven't seen it that way, I am sorry. I think the team work very well together, there was a good spirit, and togetherness, we won a lot of balls but we didn't take the benefit from it to produce some end product. We didn't have many shots on target, this is what we have to acknowledge, but I didn't see that we didn't want to give the ball to each other, absolutely not."
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Ten Hag is under huge pressure right now after his uninspiring team set a number of unwanted records. The 15 goals they conceded in their six games was more than any Premier League team had ever conceded in a Champions League group. The success of winning the Carabao Cup and qualifying for this competition seems a long time ago and Ten Hag himself may be a busted flush. But the same sets of players keep underperforming and many managers have been sacked as a result of them. There are many problems at the club, right from the owners at the top, to the players at the bottom – the future, at present, looks bleak.
WHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?
The tough fixtures keep on coming for United as they travel to bitter rivals and Premier League leaders Liverpool on Sunday.