Manchester United learned a hard truth at Old Trafford on Tuesday night. They do not belong in this company. Not at the moment. They are not good enough to rub shoulders with Bayern Munich or Manchester City or Real Madrid or Inter Milan or any of the other teams who will take their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
If anyone needed more evidence that England’s best-supported club can no longer be counted among the aristocrats of the European game, then their anaemic, uninspired, desperately mediocre performance against Bayern provided it in spades long before Kingsley Coman scored the second half goal that eased Bayern to a comfortable 1-0 victory.
Needing to beat the German champions to have any chance of leapfrogging FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray and make it through to the last 16, United could not even keep their part of the bargain against a side that had long ago sealed its place at the top of Group A and had little to play for.
That was one of the most damning things about United’s performance: a Bayern side that was on Easy Street played with more urgency and more purpose and more resolve than a United team that should have been throwing the kitchen sink at this match but instead stood staring sullenly at its pile of dirty dishes.
Their Champions League campaign has been a huge disappointment. They won a solitary match and finished rock bottom of their group. Not only did they fail to qualify for the last 16, they even failed to get a consolation place in the Europa League. The reality is that they did not deserve one
