Siddharth Juyal
Liverpool icon Jamie Carragher believes Manchester United can crash out of European competition before the second half of the season
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher casts doubt over Manchester United’s chances to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. The Liverpool icon further added that United can miss out on the Europa League by finishing last in their group.
United have lost three out of their four Champions League games this season and managed to only win one. They are currently in the fourth position, one point behind second and third place, FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray.
The Red Devils will face Galatasaray in a must-win away game at RAMS Park stadium. The Turkish club’s home ground has a renowned reputation for its hostility towards the visitors, giving them a psychological edge. United’s last Champions League game is at Old Trafford against the Group leaders Bayern Munich. The German giants have won all of their first four games and already achieved qualification for the knockout stages.
Carragher told Sky Sports that the Red Devils could crash completely from all European competition by finishing last. He said:
“Manchester United and Newcastle, there’s a good chance they may not even have Europe in the second half of the season. They could quite easily finish bottom of their Champions League groups so they wouldn’t even go into the Europa League. That could be a deciding factor.”
United manager Erik ten Hag has failed to instil cohesion and a dominant approach into his senior team. The Red Devils have lost nine out of 18 matches they’ve played in all competitions so far this season.
Many critics questioned Ten Hag’s decision to forsake the philosophy that achieved him success at his former club, Ajax. The Dutchman has tried multiple approaches according to the players available to him at United. However, the United hierarchy gave the 53-year-old sufficient funding and authority to recruit players that he preferred.
The United boss has deployed a rigid 4-2-4 formation in the last two games before the November international break. The Red Devils played well against Copenhagen in their 4-3 loss and had a two-goal lead in the first half-hour. Marcus Rashford’s red card changed the game for the worse as the visitors failed to maintain their lead.
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Against Luton Town, Ten Hag’s men managed to scrape a hard-fought 1-0 victory at Old Trafford. For that reason, it is too soon to raise hope over the newly established approach from Ten Hag. A club of United’s stature has a minimum expectation of reaching the knockout stage in the Champions League. Finishing last in the Champions League Group A and crashing out of European competition will be a massive failure for the Manchester giants.
