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The Red Devils are out of the UEFA Champions League 2023/24 after losing to six-time champions Bayern Munich.
Following a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in their final Group A match at Old Trafford on Tuesday, Manchester United are out of both the Champions League and Europe.
To have any chance of progressing to the last 16, the Red Devils needed to beat the Bavarian giants as well as hope that Group A rivals Copenhagen and Galatasaray played out a draw in Denmark.
However, Erik ten Hag’s side ended a bitterly disappointing group-stage campaign with just one shot on target against a Bayern side that claimed all three points thanks to a 70th-minute strike from Kingsley Coman.
Man United’s defeat, combined with Copenhagen’s 1-0 win over Galatasaray, means the Red Devils have finished bottom of their group for only the second time in Champions League history, having done so previously in 2005-06.
Bayern had already qualified for the last 16 as Group A winners, but they extended their lead at the top with a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, their first victory on the red side of Manchester since April 2001.
Copenhagen, who were a surprise package in this season’s group stage, will join Thomas Tuchel’s side in the knockout rounds after finishing second, while Galatasaray will finish third and enter the Europa League playoff round.
Ten Hag made two changes to the Manchester United team that lost 3-0 to Bournemouth last weekend, recalling Raphael Varane and Rasmus Hojlund in place of Sergio Reguilon and Anthony Martial, the latter of whom was absent due to illness, along with Marcus Rashford.
Tuchel made one change to the Bayern team that lost 5-1 to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga last time out, replacing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting with Jamal Musiala.
The Red Devils vs The Bavarians | Match Details
In front of a raucous Old Trafford crowd, Harry Kane burst down the right channel and whipped a dangerous delivery across the six-yard box that former Manchester City man Leroy Sane couldn’t reach inside the first two minutes.
Otherwise, Man United made a promising start as Bayern looked passive, but the Red Devils ultimately failed to test Manuel Neuer between the posts until the 23rd minute, when Luke Shaw fizzed a left-footed shot straight down the throat of Bayern’s No.1, who had to punch the ball behind for a corner.
Man United were dealt a huge injury blow shortly before halftime when in-form centre-back Maguire was forced off with an apparent groin problem, bringing on 35-year-old Jonny Evans to partner Varane at the heart of the defense.
Ten Hag will be pleased with how his Manchester United team managed the game and looked defensively compact in the first 45 minutes, but they lacked a real spark in the final third and struggled to get the best out of Hojlund, who cut an isolated figure up front.
Luke Shaw appeared to sustain an injury before the end of the first half and was replaced at the break by right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, with Dalot shifting to left-back as a result; Bayern, meanwhile, replaced Noussair Mazraoui with Konrad Laimer.
Just three minutes into the second half, Bruno Fernandes was presented with a decent opportunity to test Neuer, but the United captain leant back and fired a poor first-time strike high over the crossbar from the edge of the area.
After that, Alejandro Garnacho fizzed in a dangerous delivery from the left towards Scott McTominay and Antony inside the six-yard box, but Kim Min-jae was there to slide across and clear the ball.
Manchester United vs Bayern Munich
Bayern were not at their best and rarely threatened Man United goalkeeper Andre Onana, but they broke the deadlock 20 minutes from time thanks to a close-range finish from Coman.
A fantastic flick from Kane on the edge of the area put Coman through on goal, and the French winger kept his cool to smash a right-footed strike past Onana with aplomb to silence the Old Trafford faithful.
Ten Hag’s bench was devoid of true game-changers, with only Hannibal Mejbri, Facundo Pellistri, and Kobbie Mainoo to call on in an attempt to restore parity in the closing stages, but the Red Devils failed to pose a threat in the final third, eventually succumbing to their eighth home defeat of the season in all competitions.
Man United will look to quickly dust themselves off as they prepare to face Premier League leaders Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, while Bayern will look to build on their success at Old Trafford when they host Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.
