Coach Ten Hag: 'Man Utd likes difficult challenges'
"Bayern has a lot of skillful players, so we cannot let our guard down for even a second," coach Ten Hag said in a press conference before the match against Bayern. "Sometimes they also leave you a lot of space. We know Bayern, especially in the Champions League, they are very strong at home. But we are looking forward to this away trip, because we like difficult challenges. Everything will depend on Man Utd's performance."
Man Utd only won one of the last eight matches against Bayern. The English representative lost four matches against German opponents in the Champions League. The last time Bayern met Man Utd in an official match was the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 2014, when the "Gray Tigers" won 4-2, including a masterpiece volley from Arjen Robben. Only Barca, with 5 matches, has won more matches against Man Utd than Bayern in this arena. In other statistics, the last team to avoid defeat at the Allianz Arena in the group stage was Ten Hag's Ajax in 2018.
The "Red Devils" came to Germany with only 21 players, including four goalkeepers because the squad was devastated by injuries and non-professional reasons. Harry Maguire, Mason Mount and Raphael Varane, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka are definitely out due to injury, Antony is in Brazil to serve the investigation of assaulting his ex-girlfriend and Jadon Sancho has just been expelled. dropped out of the first team.
"From the beginning of last season until now, I have never had the most satisfactory starting lineup. Injuries always appear, but we have to find ways to cope with the situation," Ten Hag added.
Man Utd lost three of the first five matches in the Premier League - the most in the club's history. The loss to Brighton last weekend caused the "Red Devils" to break their 31-match unbeaten streak at home under Erik Ten Hag. But in the meeting earlier this week, the Dutch strategist still received absolute trust from the board of directors.
"We don't feel that the team needs a reset," coach Ten Hag said about the team's performance. "We're working on it. There are some matches where Man Utd plays well, but there are also some matches where they play well. What we need is consistency in performance."
Man Utd's defense will face Harry Kane in Munich, after many seasons when the "Red Devils" sought the English striker but failed. Coach Ten Hag said he did not regret that Man Utd failed to recruit Harry Kane, because Rasmus Hojlund was a worthy replacement. "We considered carefully when making the decision," said the 53-year-old military leader. "Currently, we are satisfied with Hojlund. He also connects very well with Rashford on the field. Everyone will see that he is a great talent."
Bayern and Man Utd are in Group A of the Champions League, with Copenhagen and Galatasaray - two opponents that are not too strong, but promise to be unpredictable.
