Bayern Munich vs Man Utd LIVE: Champions League result and reaction after seven-goal thriller in Germany

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has conceded the club’s re-signing of Cristiano Ronaldo “turned out wrong”.

Solskjaer was in charge when United brought the five-time Ballon d’Or winner back to Old Trafford amid much optimism and fanfare in August 2021.

At the time the transfer was viewed as a coup that could potentially fuel a Premier League title challenge. Yet things soon unravelled as the team struggled and Solskjaer was sacked in November that year.

There was a rare wistfulness around the Champions League draw in Monaco, where football’s most powerful and wealthy gathered in a fittingly ostentatious setting. An era was about to pass.

If the competition’s group stage has recently become a round to pay minimal attention to, this is a season to really savour it. That is because it’s the last one before the introduction of the Swiss system.

This will be the last campaign we go through the satisfying symmetry of the round-robin, hoping it builds up to one of those final matchdays – part of a lexicon that is the stage’s legacy – where it is anything but symmetrical and chaos reigns. The clean nature of the format has produced some wonderfully untidy endings.

Appropriately, a returning Arsenal will aim to relive how often they got through under Arsene Wenger. Newcastle United will doubtless be seeking to build atmosphere by showing Faustino Asprilla’s hat-trick against Barcelona in 1997-98, as well as the stirring comeback in 2002-03. Manchester United, the English club perhaps most associated with how thrillingly exacting the group stage used to be, are back for one final fight. It might not be easy, but that may not prove such an obstacle to getting through.

Erik ten Hag admitted he was concerned about the eye-watering number of injuries Manchester United are picking up ahead of their Champions League opener at Bayern Munich.

This has been a challenging start to the season for the Old Trafford giants, with off-field issues compounded by a run of three defeats in their last four Premier League matches.

United’s 3-1 meek home loss to Brighton is hardly the best preparation to face Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Wednesday, nor are the injury problems that continue to pile up.

The Red Devils have lost Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Harry Maguire since the weekend, joining the likes of Raphael Varane, Mason Mount, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia on the sidelines.

Andre Onana spoke to MUTV on Tuesday night ahead of the start of Manchester United’s Champions League campaign. The goalkeeper, who replaced David De Gea this summer, believes his team can achieve big things in Europe this season saying:

“We will give everything tomorrow and I hope we are going to win. It is not going to be easy, they are a very good team, but we are Manchester United. We have to be able to go anywehere and play our football.

“Don’t be afraid to challenge anyone. I am very confident. Champions League, I know the competition. I played the final a few months ago so we have no limit. We have to dream big.

“We have to dream very big and it’s not only about talking, it is time to deliver, to show in the pitch. This season didn’t start how we wanted but I think in the end it will be much better.”

Erik ten Hag managed in Bavaria 10 years ago, when he took charge of Bayern Munich’s second string at the beginning of his coaching career.

He returns tonight as manager of Manchester United knowing that a victory could turnaround the fortunes of his team. He was asked how it felt to return to Bayern to which he responded:

“It is great and this is a great place. A historical club and a club that has as big achievements as Manchester United does so when those two institutes face each other, it is a great match. Everyone has a look at it and it is really enjoyable to be part of it.

“[Champions League games are] great matches to be part of. It is going to be a great game I am sure, from start to finish. You have to be front foot and you have to be happy to be part of it but also you have to show it on the pitch.

“You have to give everything in such a game and then you know as a player you have to suffer. You have to sacrifice to get the right result.”

Facundo Pellistri will make his Champions League debut after being named in Erik Ten Hag’s Starting XI tonight.

The 21 year-old winger made his first senior start in March for Manchester United against Real Betis in the Uefa Europa League.

Pellestri started in Uruguay’s opening game in the 2022 World Cup, and now faces a tough test against a fancied Bayern Munich side.

Harry Kane maintains Bayern Munich always felt like the right choice for his next club as the England striker prepares to face Manchester United in the Champions League.

Kane left Tottenham for Bayern in a deal which could be worth up to £100million ahead of the summer transfer window closing.

Reports suggested United were one of the English clubs also interested in the 30-year-old forward.

Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has revealed the club put a “buy-back clause” in the deal that saw Harry Kane join Bayern Munich this summer.

Kane, who is Tottenham’s all-time record goalscorer, departed his boyhood club in August to join the German champions.

Tottenham held out for a fee that could rise to £120m for the England captain, with Kane set to enter the final year of his contract with the Premier League club.

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana says losing the 2023 Champions League final is motivating him to try and go one better this season.

Onana joined United from Inter Milan in the summer after Inter were defeated 1-0 in the European top-flight showpiece by Manchester City.

“Something [like losing the final] is a motivation for me, but [not] only me, I cannot do it [alone]. Only together we are stronger.” said Onana in the build=up to tonight’s match.

“When I see my team-mates and the quality we have, I am very confident and I know [if] we keep working how we are working, in the end of this season I think we are going to be dancing all together.”

Thomas Tuchel has joined Erik Ten Hag in making only one change to his Bayern side, with Thomas Müller dropping to the bench to be replaced by Jamal Musiala.