Manchester United lacked urgency in the defeat to Bayern Munich and one player has come in for criticism.
Bayern Munich edged a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford to beat Manchester United in the Champions League.
This was another home defeat for the Red Devils in a row, beaten by a cautiously resilient Bayern Munich side who did not need to be at their best.
But it also felt like Bayern were there for the taking if Manchester United had attacked them with real conviction.
Manchester United lacked quality
A win would not have been enough to seal qualification for Manchester United, due to Copenhagen’s victory over Galatasaray.
United fans in attendance still wanted to see the Red Devils go for Bayern and do their job. Unfortunately it ended in a 1-0 loss.
One player’s performance came under fire from BBC pundit Chris Sutton, who pointed out a lack of urgency from midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “Amrabat has not got a great range of passing. He’s too slow and ponderous.”
He added via X: “No surprise Manchester United losing tonight. Bournemouth schooled them at the weekend so Bayern Munich not breaking sweat and winning easily wasn’t a shock… Anfield Sunday as well. Manchester United sadly are bang average.”
Is the criticism fair
Manchester United’s entire midfield lacked urgency, so the criticism of the deepest lying midfielder is somewhat harsh.
United’s midfield pairing of Scott McTominay and Bruno Fernandes does not work, placing too much pressure on the holding midfielder, due to their positioning high up the pitch.
Amrabat was at least safe in possession, completing 96 per cent of his passes, with seven of 44 played making it into the final third.
You could argue he could have been more direct, but taking risks with possession is not his job.
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