Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag insists his team is capable of beating “any opponent” as they prepare to face Bayern Munich with their Champions League status on the line.
Four points from five games so far has left United bottom of Group A. But a place in the last 16 is still just about achievable for Ten Hag’s side – the only catch is they have to win against Bayern Munich at home and pray for a draw between Copenhagen and Galatasaray in the other fixture.
Unfortunately for United, they go into the crunch match at Old Trafford off the back of a dismal 3-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth. But Ten Hag is choosing to focus on the positives taken from better performances in recent weeks – like against Chelsea a few days earlier.
“We have very good performances and highs. We are able to beat any opponent,” Ten Hag said.
“The game against Chelsea, Everton. Even against Galatasaray. This team can perform at really high levels. We have to work about that. It is my responsibility, to improve the team. I will give everything, the team will as well. I can show them the clips from Chelsea.
“If we have a good plan we can beat any opponent.”
United were only narrowly beaten by Bayern in the reverse fixture in Munich back on matchday one, with the German champions edging a seven-goal thriller after several late goals.
“There were stages in that game when we played very good,” Ten Hag said, looking back. “It was head-to-head for a long time. We suffered some mistakes that were avoidable. When you play against Bayern you have to be at your best. Chelsea also had amazing players, we dominated them.”
It could also be a boost to United that Bayern have already qualified for the next round as group winners and have nothing to play for. Their streak of successive group stage wins came to an end at 17 on matchday five with a 0-0 draw against Copenhagen, while they were surprisingly thrashed 5-1 by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga over the weekend.
That being said, the trip to Manchester could be prime for a response to that unexpected embarrassment, while Bayern haven’t lost in the Champions League group stage since 2017.
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