Erik ten Hag claims Man Utd were ‘okay’ during 1-0 defeat v Bayern Munich | OneFootball

Highlights

Erik ten Hag claimed Manchester United produced an ‘okay’ team performance against Bayern Munich after his side crashed out of the Champions League group stages. The Red Devils needed to beat the German giants to stand any chance of reaching the knockout stages but lost 1-0 at Old Trafford following Kingsley Coman’s 70th-minute winning goal.

United subsequently finished rock bottom of Group A, meaning they now find themselves out of Europe completely. Instead, Galatasaray will compete in the Europa League, despite losing 1-0 to Copenhagen, after finishing third in the group.

Man Utd’s fans, those inside the stadium and millions more watching around the world, hoped to see Ten Hag’s team produce a spirited performance on a make-or-break night for the club. Over the course of the 90 minutes, however, United only registered a single shot on target.

Ten Hag: The team performance was okay

The Man Utd boss was content with his team's efforts

Nevertheless, Ten Hag wasn’t unhappy with his team’s performance. Speaking to Man Utd legend and current CBS Sports pundit Peter Schmeichel, the former Ajax boss said: “I think the team performance was okay. The defending and pressing organisation was good, we brought Bayern problems, we kept them away from our box, they didn’t create many chances.

“We have to acknowledge that we also didn’t create many chances, but we did create some in the first part of the second half. I have to say that the performance was okay, but if you want to win a game then of course you have to score a goal, and you have to have more shots on goal.”

Ten Hag disagreed with Schmeichel’s assessment that some United players were playing for themselves, rather than for the team. The Dutchman added: “I haven’t seen it that way, I’m sorry. I think the team worked very good together, there was a good spirit. In togetherness, we won a lot of balls but didn’t take the benefit from it always to produce some end product. I didn’t see that we didn’t want to give the ball to each other, absolutely not.” Watch Ten Hag’s interview with Schmeichel below:

Jamie Carragher: Ten Hag is clutching at straws

Liverpool legend believes Ten Hag is setting the bar too low

CBS Sports host Kate Abdo then asked Jamie Carragher: “If [Ten Hag] says the team performance was okay, is the bar too low?”. The Liverpool hero responded: “Yeah. You are playing one of the top teams in Europe. You are missing injured players, so I think it’s almost a case of, because you haven’t been beaten three or four nil, 1-0 actually feels okay. He’s probably watching the game thinking ‘okay, we’re still in this game’ and it’s almost like it’s a slight feel-good factor.

“But, because you lose 3-0 to Bournemouth and you are now playing one of the giants of European football and you only lose 1-0, he’s trying to take something from it to then get to Sunday, because I’m sure that will be the message tomorrow when he sees the players: ‘That wasn’t all bad. You are playing one of the top teams in Europe. It was 1-0. Anything could have happened. Right, we have to go to Anfield now and try to produce some sort of performance’. A result looks really tough on paper. I just think that’s a manager trying to clutch at straws.” Watch Carragher’s reaction to Ten Hag’s assessment below:

United face Liverpool next

Another difficult challenge for Ten Hag and his players

Unfortunately for Ten Hag, his side now face one of their toughest challenges of the season when they travel to Liverpool on December 17. United suffered a humiliating 7-0 defeat in the same fixture last term (on March 5, 2023) and the odds appeared to be stacked against the Red Devils once more.

Without captain Bruno Fernandes for the trip to Anfield, after the Portuguese midfielder picked up his fifth yellow card this season during Saturday’s shock 3-0 home defeat against Bournemouth, United are not expected to get anything out of the game against an in-form Liverpool side who now sit top of the Premier League table. Anything other than a defeat against the Merseyside outfit would be a huge boost for Ten Hag and his beleaguered players.