Man Utd Caused Bayern ‘Problem’ Despite Loss – Ten Hag

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.

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.

READ ALSO: Man United Set Unwanted UCL Records With Bayern Loss

Speaking to Peter Schmeichel on CBS Sports Golazo, he stated: “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.”

In response to the former United goalkeeper’s criticism that his former team was performing more like individuals than a cohesive one, Ten Hag said: “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.”

Ten Hag is currently under a lot of criticism because his lacklustre squad broke a lot of unwanted records. They gave up more goals than any Premier League team in a Champions League group history—15 goals in their six games. It feels like a long time ago when Ten Hag won the Carabao Cup and made it to this tournament, and he might be a busted flush. However, it is the same groups of players who consistently perform poorly, and it has led to the dismissal of numerous managers. The club is beset with issues, ranging from the owners at the top to the players at the bottom; things don’t look good for the future right now.

United’s difficult schedule continues on Sunday as they visit fierce rivals and Premier League leaders Liverpool.