Willless debacle against FCB
Manchester United sleeps through the night “a matter of life and death”
By Hendrik Buchheister, Manchester
December 13, 2023, 7:19 a.m
Out of the Champions League, and as bottom of the group: Manchester United surrenders to its fate in the defeat against FC Bayern. Coach Erik ten Hag should still be safe for now. There is an amazing reason for this.
In the golden past, stoppage time was Manchester United’s specialty, and no opponent had to experience this as painfully as FC Bayern. The club from the English northwest won the 1999 Champions League final against Munich with two goals after the regular 90 minutes had expired. The title marked the completion of the treble for United that season – it was the highlight of the 26-year tenure of super-coach Sir Alex Ferguson, during which the club became English record champions and also won almost all the trophies there was to win gives.
Ferguson is still present at Old Trafford, the opposing stand is named after him, banners remind us of his work, but the Manchester United of the present has few similarities to the one of 1999. As the fourth official at the game against FC Bayern on When stoppage time showed on Tuesday, a generous five minutes, many fans had already given up hope – they had left the stadium.
A few of those left behind made half-hearted calls for United to attack (“Attack! Attack! Attack!”), but the message didn’t get through. The team played just as indifferently in the five additional minutes as in the previous 90 minutes and accepted their fate: a 0-1, which meant they were eliminated from the preliminary round of the Champions League – as bottom of the group.
Failure without resistance
The earliest possible failure in the premier class is in itself embarrassing for the English record champions, but the game against FC Bayern was particularly disturbing because United never showed any desire to win the game at any cost. The stadium magazine had declared the event a “do-or-die night”, a night in which it was a matter of life or death, but the United professionals are obviously not readers of the in-house magazine. They played as if they had already qualified for the round of 16 – like FC Bayern. United managed a single shot on goal, it was an embarrassment from left-back Luke Shaw from the second row.
The English record champions’ games in the Champions League this season were chaotic – 3:4 in the first leg in Munich, 2:3 and 3:3 against Galatasaray, 3:4 against FC Copenhagen. An end after another battle against FC Bayern, an honorable failure after a heroic fight, the English public could perhaps have come to terms with that.
However, the fact that one of the biggest clubs in the world is surrendering itself to its doom without resistance is unforgivable for the press. The Daily Mail wrote of a “desperately mediocre performance”. The Times complained: “Where United needed passion, it had only passivity. Where it needed players who could change a game, United had no one on the bench with the talent and belief to take on Bayern.”
A team without foundation
The season so far – Manchester United is sixth in the Premier League with seven defeats already – is the signal of a personnel policy that has been grotesquely wrong over the years. Despite horrendous expenses, the team appears largely improvised and immature. A few examples: Goalkeeper André Onana, who came this season from Champions League finalist Inter Milan, made a decisive contribution to the Champions League exit with several mistakes.
Defender Harry Maguire was supposed to be deported, but is suddenly first choice again. Midfielder Scott McTominay is a serious worker, but has to serve as a beacon of hope for the attack this season. Captain Bruno Fernandes is criticized for his often negative body language. He also picked up his fifth yellow card in the 3-0 defeat against AFC Bournemouth at the weekend and will miss the game against arch-enemy and league leaders Liverpool on Sunday. It is difficult to see in United’s first eleven even the foundations of a team that could compete for titles again in the distant future.
The substitutes particularly illustrated the plight of the English record champions against FC Bayern. When a passionate rebellion was required, coach Erik ten Hag could only substitute the inexperienced Hannibal, Facundo Pellistri and Kobbie Mainoo. After the game, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel pointed out United’s bad luck with injuries, which would have left Ten Hag little room for maneuver. But it is questionable whether currently absent professionals such as Casemiro, Marcus Rashford or Anthony Martial could have given the game a turn. And Jadon Sancho was, as is well known, sorted out.
Who the fans blame for the decline
Ten years after the departure of iconic coach Ferguson, Manchester United once again realizes that it has lost touch with the top, in England and internationally. For the third time in this time, the club was eliminated from the preliminary round of the Champions League. After David Moyes, Louis van Gaal, José Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Erik ten Hag is the fifth full-time coach who is in danger of failing because of the Ferguson legacy.
However, his position would probably not be in immediate danger even if Sunday’s game in Liverpool ended in defeat. Chemical billionaire Jim Ratcliffe is about to join Manchester United. He should decide on sporting matters in the future. It is unlikely that his first official act would be to fire the coach.
Ten Hag still has credit with the audience at Old Trafford, even if he probably didn’t do himself any favors by saying that Manchester United could at least concentrate fully on the Premier League after the Champions League exit. For the spectators, the culprits for the club’s demise are the owners, the Glazer family from Florida. “We want Glazers out!”, the United fans roared again against FC Bayern. The wish will not come true any time soon. The family cedes only 25 percent of the shares to Jim Ratcliffe and retains the majority. But at least: for a moment there was a hint of passion at Old Trafford.