Man Utd on the brink of catastrophe as humiliating Champions League exit exposes home truths
Erik ten Hag has serious issues to overcome
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Manchester United are stuck right now. They’re in a deep hole of their own making with seemingly no way out despite Erik ten Hag’s best efforts to keep the sinking ship afloat.
But Tuesday night’s performance against Bayern Munich - in a must-win game - exposed the real nature of Ten Hag’s problems.
United fans haven’t had anything to shout about this season so far with the win over Everton the only league game they beat their opponents by more than a single goal.
Their Carabao Cup defence ended in a whimper at the hands of Newcastle, but it is United’s displays in Europe this year that will be the biggest cause for concern.
Manchester United have not had a clear transfer strategy in recent years
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When the draw for the group stage was made, United would have fancied their chances to challenge Bayern Munich for top spot - at the very least finish second.
But picking up just three points from a possible 12 against Copenhagen and Galatasaray while conceding 11 goals in the process ultimately sealed their fate.
It’s only the fourth time an English club have finished bottom of a Champions League group.
Manchester City in 2012 - in a ‘group of death’ featuring Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Ajax - are the only English team to have finished with fewer points than United’s four from this year.
It’s a sign of United’s downfall that a trip to Anfield this weekend has many fearing - even expecting - a heavy defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool.
And United don’t appear able to turn to anybody in their current squad to help turn things around.
Instead of spending big on someone like Harry Kane to fix their deficiencies in front of goal, they signed a striker who is unproven at the highest level.
The move for Rasmus Hojlund would have made more sense had United gone with the strategy of going for young talents to rebuild Ten Hag’s squad and look toward the future.
But United have signed Casemiro, Andre Onana and Sofyan Amrabat in the past year, all of whom are 27 years of age or older.
Even the experienced players in United’s squad who were once regarded as dependable such as Raphael Varane, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford have either fallen out of favour or woefully out of form.
The Glazers hold plenty of the blame with the arduous takeover saga still yet to be completed.
But the biggest fear at United right now will be how they can actually turn things around.
It’s only December but a top-four finish and the FA Cup are the only way to salvage this season from another catastrophe in a long line of disasters over the past decade.
But that’s hardly a consolation prize given where United had hoped to be at the beginning of the campaign.
Now a trip to Jurgen Klopp’s table-topping Liverpool side in front of a record Anfield crowd awaits.
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A match where United could find themselves in an even deeper hole with no way out.