Manchester United might have to summon the spirit of 1999 when they open their Uefa Champions League campaign at old rivals Bayern Munich.
United have started the Premier League with three losses in their opening five games and were booed by their own fans after the latest defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.
Off-field issues involving Mason Greenwood, Jadon Sancho and Antony have provided unwanted distractions for United manager Erik ten Hag, who insisted after losing to Brighton that the team is not in crisis.
Wednesday’s trip to Munich could deal Ten Hag’s players another blow — unless he manages to galvanise the team to atone for their poor start.
United defeated Bayern in improbable circumstances before. Injury-time goals from Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjær earned United the 1999 Champions League title with a 2-1 win over Bayern in the final.
Bayern, the 11-time defending champions in the Bundesliga, is unbeaten so far this season, though they dropped their first points Saturday when Bayer Leverkusen came from behind to draw 2-2 in Munich.
Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel is suspended following his sending off in the team’s loss to eventual champions Manchester City in the quarter finals last season. Tuchel will be forced to watch the game from the stands and it’s likely Zsolt Löw and Anthony Barry will direct the team in his place.
United will be without right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was injured after making a short appearance toward the end of Saturday’s loss to Brighton.
Wednesday’s match will also be the first time Harry Kane will line up in a Bayern Munich shirt against United, the club he desperately wanted to move to before signing for the German giants.
Kane, who has so far scored four goals in this Bundesliga campaign, has also admitted that he had talks with Manchester United before joining Bayern from Tottenham Hotspur. The striker was a long-term target for the Premier League club with Ten Hag an admirer. However, the financial aspects of the transfer did not work out.
If Kane scores on Wednesday, it will probably hurt United even more.
Arsenal upbeat
Arsenal deserve to be competing in the Champions League this season, manager Mikel Arteta said on Tuesday as he called on the Premier League club to make the most of their return to Europe’s top competition after a six-year absence.
Arsenal, who are back in the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign, face PSV Eindhoven, Europa League winners Sevilla and RC Lens in Group B.
“Every time I watched (the Champions League) and we weren’t there, I felt it. This club has to be in the Champions League,” Arteta told reporters. “It was a process but we are here and now we have to make the most out of it. It is always a learning process. I think we did and we have improved as a team, we deserve to be here.
“We are proud and excited. It has been a long time for the club since we have been in the competition, and for me it is the first time as a manager, so I am really looking forward to it.”
The English club crossed paths with PSV in last year’s Europa League, with both sides winning their respective home fixtures in the group stage.
‘Special game’
After a perfect start in the Spanish league with five straight wins, Real Madrid will look to keep their momentum going in the Champions League.
The record 14-time European champions kick off their campaign against newcomers Union Berlin at home. It will be Madrid’s 27th straight appearance in the group stage — and Union Berlin’s first-ever game in the competition.
“The Champions League is a special competition for us, and we are going to treat the game as something special,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Tuesday.
With inputs from AP/PTI, Reuters
