Can Manchester United find some form and ensure they are in Monday morning’s draw for the Champions League knockout stages, or will they be dropping into the Europa League? Or even worse, will they suffer the ultimate ignominy and be getting dumped out of Europe entirely this evening? Have your say in the comments . . .
Manchester United
Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich live: Score and Champions League updates
Man Utd vs Bayern Munich live: Score and latest updates from the Champions League
Half-time: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
United are still in it but have created very little bar Shaw’s long-range shot. Sane, by contrast, had a golden chance to put Bayern ahead but took one too many touches after gliding past Amrabat.
Plenty of grit and spirit from Manchester United, though, in stark contrast to Saturday.
41 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Still 0-0 in Copenhagen.
Harry Maguire is off after pulling up with a groin injury. He whispered a few words in his replacement Jonny Evans’ ear as he came off. United lose another defender. Have to see the severity of the injury but hard to believe he’s going to be available to face Liverpool on Sunday
31 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Bruno lets fly but it hits the wall and balloons behind for a corner that Fernandes hits straight to Kane and Bayern break like lightning. Coman hares down the right and fizzes over a cross to the back post where Sane. inches ahead of it, meets it on the volley and diverts it away from goal and Maguire clears.
26 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Amrabat melts away as Sane runs right at him down the middle and into the box. Amrabat is outpaced like a milk cart chasing a Porsche and left in his wake but Sane takes a touch too many and allows Maguire to step across and the ball breaks to his left and Davies’ shot on the slide is turned over by Dalot’s block.
24 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Shaw, invited to shoot by space opening up ahead of him, lets fly and Neuer turns it behind. Nice pass from Bruno Fernandes. From the corner Garnacho chases Coman into the corner and Bayern think he shoves him down the slope, forcing him into the digital hoardings but it looked accidental to me.
20 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
VAR did check whether that was a penalty but sided with the referee.
Antony, more prominent tonight than on Saturday, combines with McTominay to work the ball into Bruno Fernandes. He spies Hojlund and tries to sweep a pass to him to turn and shoot but cannot find the laser precision in a very tight space.
9 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Decent start from Manchester United but I would think they need to score first. They deflate quickly when they concede this season but grow when they go ahead.
Musiala exploits some space down the right to isolate Shaw and then square it to Kane by the right of the D. But he sweeps a scuffed shot far too close to Onana who only has to flop on top of it.
7 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Onana has the ball at his feet and plenty of space. He dribbles to the edge of the box but then plays short to Maguire who switches it up the right and Antony nutmegs Kim, goes round the other side to the byline and is outmuscled by Goretzka who barges into him. The Stretford End wants a penalty but nothing doing.
2 min: Man Utd 0 Bayern Munich 0
Maguire and Dalot stand up to repel another Bayern thrust and then Garnacho picks off a Kimmich pass, lays it off to Bruno Fernandes and races upfield to try to get on the end of a long pass. Garnacho battles for possession with Upamecano and the crowd are off their feet.
Bayern fans feeling at home
There is some multilingual badinage here at Old Trafford already. The highlight so far is Bayern Munich fans chanting, without even a hint of an accent: “This is a library.”
Ten Hag calls for a strong start
Erik ten Hag says in his programme notes that there are “no excuses for how far short we all fell” of the “high standards” he and the club demands in Saturday’s wretched 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth at Old Trafford. “It is no good turning in a strong performance every other game; we are capable of much more than that, but we have to find our consistency and rhythm,” the United manager said.
Ten Hag says United have left themselves with “no option but to perform at our absolute best” if they are to stand any chance of staying in the Champions League and there is “no room for self pity or wondering about what might have turned out differently”.
As he did in his press conference, Ten Hag has implored his players to make a strong start “because we saw last Saturday what happens when you don’t begin a match in the right fashion”. United conceded after five minutes and never recovered.
Ten Hag on United’s form
It was a disappointment, especially after last Wednesday. We have high highs and low lows, we need to get consistency in our game. That is the job, the players and the staff. Amrabat is very strong in interceptions and defensive duels, but of course we need football as well.
Varane starts for first time since Oct 24
Raphael Varane has not played for a month but has been parachuted back into the side for United’s biggest game of the season to date. Victor Lindelof has not made the squad following injury, Jonny Evans – who is on the bench – is only just back from injury and Erik ten Hag has resolved he wants Luke Shaw at left back rather than inside so it’s Varane – a four times Champions League – winner alongside Harry Maguire. That is interesting in itself.
Ten Hag has admitted publicly that it is not a combination he ordinarily favours as he doesn’t think either are as comfortable on the left of the two as some other players. Varane has not played since the 1-0 win over Luton on Nov 11 and it will be interesting to see what his match fitness is like. There has been a strain in relations with Ten Hag but the manager goes with him tonight in what is his first start for United since Oct 24 in the 1-0 win over Copenhagen.
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Preview: Out of their hands
Crunch time? Not really because Manchester United’s Champions League fate is not in their hands after that opportunity slipped through Andre Onana’s last time out in Istanbul. Erik ten Hag’s side need to beat Bayern Munich and hope that Copenhagen and Galatasaray cancel each other out with a draw, as they did in their opening Group A meeting. The players put on a show of camaraderie and intensity during an open training session at Carrington yesterday, cynics would say almost performatively, and Scott McTominay insisted that while there had been toxic United dressing rooms in the past, it certainly wasn’t the case under Ten Hag. Try telling that to Jadon Sancho …
Nevertheless United owe their home fans a performance and it will be interesting to see whether Ten Hag turns to Rasmus Hojlund after Anthony Martial’s terrible afternoon against Bournemouth and whether he can inspire Marcus Rashford, unsettled and seemingly disgruntled by a switch to the right, to wake up and run himself out of his slump. Does he tell his ill-disciplined captain Bruno Fernandes to keep his head and ensure everyone around him does too and will he send out Luke Shaw as a centre-back against Harry Kane or will he bring Raphael Varane, who has won only four Champions Leagues and a World Cup, back in from the cold and trust him to do a job on the England captain?
As for Bayern, they will be keen to bounce back from their 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt last week but seasoned watchers of FC Hollywood would tell you that there is an argument that Kane’s prolific start is papering over the cracks of a still-dysfunctional midfield. Having said that, even without clicking and without having to click given they are already assured of first place in a dramatic but poor quality group, they have enough flair and pace to give United’s oddly assembled defence a torrid time.
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