Tuesday night saw Manchester United’s European journey end at the group stages this season, as they lost four of six games.
Manchester United will be bitterly disappointed and no doubt furious with themselves as a 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich confirmed their exit.
It will be an annoying reality for Erik ten Hag to be aware that he and his side had every chance they needed of progressing, but threw away solid performances on more than one occasion.
There are several reasons United now find themselves with no continental football after Christmas, here are five of them…
Onana errors
No matter how you feel about Andre Onana‘s time at Manchester United thus far, there is no denying he played a huge role in the early Champions League exit.
To concede as many goals as he did is simply unacceptable and while the rest of the team were also shambolic, he was required to do better.
According to SofaScore, Onana made two big errors which inevitably led to goals, which just aren’t acceptable and without these. we likely would be gearing up for the knockout draw right now.
Rashford red card
Marcus Rashford’s red card in Copenhagen came at the worst possible time for United, as following that and down to 10 men the squad capitulated.
United were 2-0 up and flying, playing some of the best football we’ve seen all season before the red card.
Afterwards, though Copenhagen would fight back to dramatically win 4-3 which at the time was a significant blow to United’s chances leaving them with a lot of work to do in Istanbul and at home to Bayern Munich.
Not holding onto leads
This was the biggest problem of the campaign, as United seemed incapable of protecting a lead in Europe.
Against Galatasaray at Old Trafford, United saw not one but two leads dissipate as Erik ten Hag’s men went 1-0 up and then 2-1 up before ultimately losing 3-2 with Casemiro getting sent off.
We already touched on the appalling Copenhagen outing which saw 2-0 become 4-3 in dramatic circumstances.
In Istanbul, the problem persisted with United 2-0 up once again before falling apart and barely securing a point in a 3-3 draw.
Injury crisis
The injury crisis which has plagued United this season is ridiculous and seemingly never-ending.
The list currently has just been added to with Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw withdrawn from action on Tuesday.
The injuries have left United’s options bare and without this crisis, it’s hard not to imagine a far better outcome for the Red Devils.
Not enough goals from the wingers
Manchester United may have scored a bunch of goals in their short-lived Champions League campaign, however only one came from the wing,
Alejandro Garnacho scored one against Galatasaray away, while both Rashford, Antony and Facundo Pellistri drew blanks.
This poor return led to an over-reliance on Rasmus Hojlund with both Casemiro and Bruno contributing as well.
This is an issue which has plagued United in the Premier League also with just three goals coming from forwards in the Premier League, two of which in a single game against Everton.