MU has no way back in Champions League

While there is life, there is hope.

A narrow 1-0 home win in the first leg against FC Copenhagen has rekindled hopes for MU (3 points) to compete for a ticket to the next round in Group A with Bayern Munich (9 points) and Galatasaray (4 points). Therefore, this trip to Denmark is vital if coach Erik Ten Hag's team wants to escape the crisis. FC Copenhagen (1 point) had a positive performance in the first leg two weeks ago when they only lost after a header from Harry Maguire and a penalty saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana in the last minute. The "Red Devils" have not only had a bad start in the Champions League and were just eliminated from the English League Cup by Newcastle, but they have also lost 5 of 11 matches in the Premier League this season. Coach Ten Hag's team lost to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray in the first two matches of Group A, so a victory in the Danish capital is almost mandatory if they do not want to stop early. Because they will have to face Bayern Munich and Galatasaray in the last 2 rounds. Therefore, each upcoming match of MU is considered the "final" for the whole season and the future of Mr. Ten Hag.

MU (right) must beat FC Copenhagen if they want to maintain their hopes of advancing.

There are doubts about coach Ten Hag's tactics, causing many reactions in the team when the "Red Devils" lost 8 out of 16 matches this season on all fronts. In addition, the dressing room has been simmering with complaints about the strategist's training methods, leading to an injury crisis. In turn, pillars such as Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw are absent for a long time due to injury, while number 1 striker Marcus Rashford and center-back Victor Lindelof are still uncertain to play. Not stopping there, MU stars are said to be starting to protest coach Ten Hag because of his treatment of some players in the team such as Jadon Sancho and Harry Maguire. The dressing room is in disarray, causing MU players' poor performance on the field. Although they just found victory against Fulham after 2 consecutive recent defeats at home (against Man.City and Newcastle), the performance at Craven Cottage still raises many questions for Mr. Ten Hag (MU won 1-0 thanks to a goal in injury time by Bruno Fernandes).

Fragile defense

Since his appointment last summer, Ten Hag has spent a total of around £407m on transfers, but he has yet to build a squad capable of challenging for the title. It can be seen that the "Red Devils"'s weakest area at the moment is the defense - conceding 26 goals in 16 games this season. Besides Lisandro, Shaw and Tyrell Malacia are absent for long periods due to injury, Ten Hag can only put all his faith in aging or slow defenders such as Jonny Evans, Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof. Meanwhile, mainstay center-back Raphael Varane has been on the bench for the last 3 games for tactical reasons.

The challenge will be even greater for the Manchester side as FC Copenhagen are still not out of the woods. Since the unfortunate defeat at Old Trafford, Jacob Neestrup's side have won three straight home games in domestic competitions. A win would revive the Danish champions' chances of finishing second in the group, but it would also leave United facing a trophyless season. FC Copenhagen's victory over United in the Champions League group stage was a long time ago (2006-07) and repeating that at home at Parken this time will not be easy, as they have not won in their last 10 meetings with English clubs in European competition. On the other hand, the 20-time English champions have won only one of their last seven away games in the Champions League. Therefore, this is a match that promises to have many surprises.

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