Man Utd dumped out of Europe after defeat to Bayern
Having each suffered humiliating league defeats on the weekend, both sides were in need of a response, yet the pressure was firmly on the Manchester side, who required a win to stand any hope of UCL progression.
A fairly evenly-contested first half was characterised by United’s compact defensive unit restricting Bayern to half-chances.
Leroy Sané was at the heart of the goalmouth action, combining well with Jamal Musiala before his direct run at goal was curtailed by Harry Maguire, and then misdirecting a volley from Kingsley Coman’s dangerous delivery.
A speculative effort from Luke Shaw was the best the hosts could muster before the interval, but aside from Maguire’s forced substitution, Erik ten Hag would have been reasonably pleased at the break.
After conceding three or more goals in four of their previous five UCL group encounters, keeping the German champions at arm’s length marked a considerable improvement.
Nonetheless, a goal for Copenhagen against Galatasaray in the group’s other fixture brought United’s perilous position back into full focus, with a UCL exit guaranteed if that result was to hold.
The Red Devils were certainly in the game as the clock ticked past the hour mark, restricting their opponents to very few presentable opportunities. However, after some patient probing, Bayern eventually broke the deadlock through Coman, who finished clinically after latching onto Kane’s delicate pass into the box.
With less than 20 minutes to respond and qualification out of their hands, the writing was on the wall for Ten Hag.
Ultimately, United weren’t able to extend their impressive unbeaten home streak against German sides (W8, D3), falling to defeat which sees them finish behind Galatasaray on H2H record, exiting European competition with a whimper.
Meanwhile, a professional yet underwhelming display from Bayern sees them extend their UCL-record undefeated group stage run to 40 games (W36, D4) as they look forward to UCL knockouts.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich)
