Manchester United crashed out of the Champions League on Tuesday night after a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford.
Former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel admitted there was a ‘weird’ atmosphere at Old Trafford prior to the game.
United knew they needed to beat Bayern Munich as well as rely on the other game in Group A to end as a draw. It didn’t and FC Copenhagen booked the runners-up spot in Group A to seal their place in the last-16.
Erik ten Hag’s side failed to register more than one shot on target and rarely threatened the Bundesliga champions who walked away with all three points thanks to a Kingsley Coman strike after 70 minutes.
Speaking about the match on CBS Sports, Schmeichel said the atmosphere felt flat before a ball was even kicked.
“Everything about today was a little bit weird here at Old Trafford,” Schmeichel said, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “Just before the kick off, I said the stadium was not full, there was no atmosphere, a bit of a weird atmosphere. It took up to the 51st minute for the home crowd to do anything like an little bit of support for the team.
“There was a lot of Bayern Munich supporters there, they were vocal all the way through, it was like they were dominating it. It [the atmosphere] was reflecting the performance on the pitch.
“On the pitch, it was just average and that is even being nice. There are a lot of players in that team who have to have a meeting with themselves and look at that performance today. There is a lot of players who thought this was all about them today, trying to be the hero in quite a few situations where a pass would have been a better option so there was a lot of things not going right today and it is not nice being a Manchester United supporter, seeing that type of performance.
“I have to be honest, right from the word go I never felt there was a goal coming, never at any point and I don’t think, correct me if I am wrong, we created a chance in the whole game.” Next up for the Reds is a trip to Anfield and Schmeichel hinted he was pessimistic about United’s chances on Merseyside.
“There isn’t a lot of pace in the team, to be honest,” he added. “You have got a little bit on the left wing, a little bit up front but you have got a midfield who seems to be confused what their job is.
“Some of them pressing, some aren’t, they leave a massive gap between the defenders and the front players and it is like two linear lines. Everything seems a little bit out of sync. Of course you have Harry Maguire coming off with an injury, Luke Shaw too. I think we have Liverpool on Sunday… I am trying not to think about that.”
Get the latest Manchester United news, opinion, interviews and exclusive features with the Stretty Newsletter – Ad Free! Kick off your afternoon with the Stretty News verdict on all matters Manchester United.
