Player ratings as Manchester United suffer a disappointing defeat and exit the Champions League against Bayern Munich

13 December 2023 1834
Share Tweet

 

Manchester United faced a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich, thereby exiting the Champions League on Tuesday evening at Old Trafford.

The first half of the match remained goalless, with the only highlight being Kingsley Coman's goal in the second half, during what was otherwise a lackluster game.

Despite needing a victory to continue their Champions League journey and depending on a draw between Copenhagen and Galatasaray, United were left without any options when the Danish team secured a win.

Man Utd did increase their intensity while playing against Bayern, following their previous 3-0 loss to Bournemouth, but they did not manage to threaten Bayern much in the initial stages. The best they managed during the first 30 minutes was Luke Shaw's long-range effort, which Manuel Neuer easily handled.

Bayern caused a few alarming moments for United in the first half through Leroy Sane's skilful runs that stretched the United defense. The center forward, however, failed to deliver any substantial damage and barely steered Coman's cross after the half-hour mark, sending the ball backwards with his volley.

Manchester United's poor first-half performance made it easy for Bayern to deal with them, and it seemed like they didn't need to exert too much effort to control the match.

Bruno Fernandes started the second half with a few inaccurate shots from the edge of the box, while Joshua Kimmich also missed an 18-yard shot at the other end.

The game changer was Bayern's excellent play that led to Man Utd's exit from the Champions League with about 20 minutes to go. A clever flick from Harry Kane sent Coman through to score, while a helpless Andre Onana looked on.

Despite their best efforts, Man United could not retaliate against Bayern's opening goal, marking their exit from the European championship amidst a quiet Old Trafford crowd. The team's group stage performance had sealed their fate.


RELATED ARTICLES