The reactions of Manchester United players after each of the four goals conceded against FC Bayern seemed as if the glorious club had been eliminated from the Champions League forever. Almost every player looked down, many gestured soberly or held their hands in front of their heads. Captain Bruno Fernandes once pulled his jersey over his face, goalkeeper André Onana simply remained lying there after his unsuccessful defensive actions. Coach Erik ten Hag followed the action with similar consternation, almost petrified. Just before half-time, the team seemed to be shaken when Scott McTominay spoke urgently to his teammates. He urged them to fight back and believe they could make up the deficit – as a substitute warming up on the sidelines.
The aura of the English record champions is based on comebacks. During the era of coach Alex Ferguson (1986-2013), the club famously turned around the 1999 Champions League final against Bayern with two goals in stoppage time. At the time, the club had a reputation for indestructibility, which opponents were afraid of. Ferguson’s teams shone less with aesthetic football than with immense commitment.
Man United has increasingly lost these traditional virtues since the iconic coach resigned. At the flattering 3:4 in Munich on Wednesday, only the former United greats and current TV experts Paul Scholes, Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves on the sidelines recalled the former strength of character with their statements on the sidelines. Scholes scoffed the harshest: “Every time United scores a goal, it should be: Let’s go, let’s stay in the game – but before you know it, the others score again.”
The Manchester Evening News concluded that the defeat (despite considerable injury concerns) was not a question of talent, but of head. The team does not have the mentality of a premier class participant, let alone a title contender. United didn’t even lose “with honor,” the newspaper wrote, which has now become “a habit” given the heavy away defeats in the previous season (Brentford, Manchester City, Liverpool, Sevilla).
André Onana came to Manchester from Inter Milan for 52 million. At United he has now conceded 14 goals in six games
Indicative of this was the maudlin analysis by goalkeeper Onana, who had caused the first goal after a good start with a terrible mistake. He said guiltily that he had let his team down; it was only because of him that they didn’t win. Where is the self-confidence, the defiance, the pride? In the summer, Onana moved from Champions League finalist Inter Milan to Manchester as a renowned keeper for around 52 million euros. He has now conceded 14 goals in six games. The telegraph wrote that it felt like the club was a “Bermuda Triangle” where players’ skills were disappearing.
In need of explanation: Manchester’s Dutch coach Erik ten Hag.
(Photo: Christof Stache/AFP)
What is most striking in contrast to the club’s best days is the loss of identity. The core of the Ferguson team has always consisted of a number of competitive local footballers. In the last Champions League victory in 2008, six Englishmen were in the starting line-up. Against FC Bayern there was only one: attacker Marcus Rashford, whose body language demonstrated more listlessness than aggression.
Once again, the Dutchman ten Hag – unlike in much of the previous season – chose not to use mentality players who are defined by fighting qualities rather than playful qualities. Only with the substitution of the sideline motivator and midfield clearer McTominay (69th minute) did the team stabilize. Until then, no defensive player was taller than 1.87 meters. The lack of assertiveness was blatant in the constant duel between United’s Lisandro Martínez and Bayern’s striker Harry Kane, who used the mismatch to prepare the first goal, among other things.
The only exception at United was the Brazilian Casemiro, who prevented a debacle with his two goals in the final phase. The long-time Real Madrid player is needed everywhere on the pitch right now, he has to protect the defense, coordinate the midfield, and United even relies on his goal threat: he has scored three of the nine goals so far this season.
Ten Hag now has to form a stable team around him before the Premier League games against Burnley and Crystal Palace, which will also be about the coach’s future. But the relationship between him and his players seems to have suffered. After the final whistle, ten Hag high-fived several Bayern professionals – and not a single one from his own team.