Manchester United Eliminated From Europe After Worst Ever Champions League Campaign
Manchester United's European journey this season came to a premature end on Tuesday night after a home loss to Bayern Munich resulted in Erik ten Hag's side finishing bottom of Champions League Group A.
After taking just four points from their opening five games, United went into Tuesday's group finale needing to win to have any chance of staying in the tournament.
But a 1-0 defeat saw the Red Devils finish in fourth place in a UCL group for the first time since 2005.
Champions League Group A Final Standings
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. Bayern Munich | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | +6 | 16 |
2. Copenhagen | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
3. Galatasaray | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 5 |
4. Man United | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 4 |
This was United's worst Champions League campaign ever. The Manchester club had never previously earned fewer than six points in the group stage.
United also set a new unwanted record by shipping 15 goals in their six games - more than any Premier League team had ever conceded in a UCL group.
Bayern had already secured top spot before visiting Old Trafford and it had been suggested that manager Thomas Tuchel may consider resting some of his senior stars against United.
However, that was not the case and a full-strength Bayern secured a deserved victory thanks to a 70th-minute strike by Kingsley Coman, who fired past Andre Onana from eight yards following a fine assist by Harry Kane.
Kingsley Coman pictured (center) scoring for Bayern Munich against Manchester United
IMAGO/Sportimage/Andrew Yates
Onana had earlier been called upon to keep out efforts from Kane and Joshua Kimmich as United attempted to stay in the game.
Tuesday's defeat wrapped up a frustrating UCL campaign for United, who had taken the lead in three of the five group games that they failed to win.
United's early exit from Europe could also make it more difficult for the club to qualify for next season's Champions League.
It is possible that five Premier League teams will qualify for the expanded 2024/25 edition of the UCL but that is dependent on English clubs performing well in Europe this season.
