With Manchester United's embarrassing group-stage exit from the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, their situation now looks a lot grimmer than that of struggling Chelsea!
The Red Devils suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Bayern Munich this week, with the result ensuring that they finish bottom of their group behind European minnows Copenhagen and Galatasaray. This was just the second time the English giants had finished rock-bottom of their UCL group, previously doing so in the 2005/06 season. It wasn't just their premature elimination that is a cause for concern, but the crushing manner in which they have been dumped out of the tournament, this time only accumulating a measly four points in comparison to the six points they had 17 years ago. Having lost to every opponent in their group this season, this was essentially their worst-ever display in the tournament.
Read: Neymar makes huge 'request' to his former club
Manager Erik ten Hag issued a defiant message after the game, claiming his team did not deserve to lose to Bayern. "We didn't lose it today, that's clear," he said after the match, according to EuroSport. "We had some good performances, but then also we made mistakes. Some individual errors from more players and in the end it's not good enough. Today, I think the performance was, again, very good. We didn't deserve to lose but we lost the game."
His defiance certainly looks misplaced as the match statistics show that his side registered just one shot on target and had 40% possession despite going into the tie desperate for a win. Their bench seemed depleted, with none of the attackers they brought on having more than five Champions League appearances under their belt, with more experienced options such as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial ruled out of the match due to illness. The difference in quality between them and Bayern was painfully contrasting as the Germans brought attack-minded options such as Thomas Muller, Konrad Laimer, Raphael Guerreiro, and Mathys Tel off the bench, while United introduced 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo and inexperienced duo Facundo Pellistri and Hannibal Mejbri.
This points to a lack of depth at Old Trafford, although some could blame this on injury absences and a lack of form from more established names like Antony, who has now gone 25 games with just one assist and zero goals to his name, per ESPN. Given the reports suggesting that the club is also strapped for cash ahead of the January transfer window unless they sell some players, a way out of their predicament seems to be increasingly complicated as immediate solutions are dependent on variables such as when Sir Jim Ratcliffe's anticipated takeover will take place. It is reported that the British billionaire will acquire a 25% stake in the side, and will be given the right to oversee all footballing operations, including recruitment.
With Chelsea having not qualified for European football this term, expectations around them were far less ambitious than those of United, who were looking to improve on their 2022/23 Carabao Cup win and advance beyond the group stage of the Champions League. Although the Blues are below the Red Devils on the Premier League table, they have lost as many matches (seven) as the Manchester team so far this season. Chelsea parted ways with four different managers last season, during which they spent record-breaking sums of money on transfers, and new boss Mauricio Pochettino was granted a two-year deal to clean up the mess and get the team firing again.
Read: Player escapes death after being stabbed by referee
The reality is that while Ten Hag's job security is now under threat, it would be gravely irresponsible of Chelsea to sack Pochettino this season while they are still paying off the contracts of previous managerial sackings such as Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter. The Stamford Bridge outfit's situation is mostly relative to how much they have spent in comparison to what they haven't achieved so far, while United's problems are a serious marking of their worst-ever display in Europe coupled with middling form in the Premier League. Perhaps even more concerning, United look to be heading down a familiar road of potentially having to replace a manager within their first two seasons, a trend that has been synonymous with the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era.
Opinion by Lukhanyo Mtuta
You must be SIGNED IN to read and post comments.
WATCH: