Last gasp for Manchester United. What does it need to qualify in the Champions League or at least the Europa League?

Manchester United is in a critical situation. After five rounds, they are last in the Champions League Group A table and will welcome Bayern Munich at home. What does it need to do to have a chance of qualifying?

Coach Erik ten Hag probably knew this wasn’t the easiest group and that some sort of setback could come. But he probably didn’t expect to be in last place with only 4 points before the last game.

United started the group in Munich, where they lost 3: 4. That still wouldn’t have been too bad, a defeat to Bayern as the group favourites was to be expected. However, it was worse when United subsequently lost at home to Galatasaray.

In the home game against Copenhagen, Manchester United went ahead, only for disaster to strike, a penalty for the visitors. But Onana converted it to give the Red Devils hope. But that was United’s only bright spot in the Champions League.

A rematch in Copenhagen followed, and the Red Devils failed miserably. The home side managed to equalise, but Fernandes sent the visitors back into the lead. But even that was not enough, Copenhagen turned the score around with two goals in the final minutes and won 4:3.

The match in Turkey was crucial for United, as a loss would have meant a certain end. And it seemed that ten Hag’s charges would go home happy, as they soon led 2:0. Ziyech reduced the deficit, but United took a 3-1 lead and controlled the match. But then Onana made a huge mistake, Galatasaray added a third goal and it was a draw.

What does it take for Manchester United to qualify?

At the moment, United are last with 4 points, Copenhagen and Galatasaray have 5. What do the Red Devils need to do to still qualify for the spring stage of the Champions League?

They absolutely must beat Bayern Munich. A loss would be an automatic exit. But even a win against Bayern may not be enough. At the same time, United must hope that the Copenhagen-Galatasaray game ends in a draw. Then they would secure second place.

The road to the Europa League is a little easier, the Red Devils will secure it if they beat Bayern and at that point they have nothing to look back on. If Copenhagen or Galatasaray make it a three-point game, United will be third.

The road to the Europa League can lead to a draw, albeit a bit thorny. For that, United would need Galatasaray to win in a match played in parallel. After all, if Copenhagen wins and United have the same points as the Turkish side, they won’t progress because of the inferior fixtures. They are evenly matched with Copenhagen and the score would be the decider.

So far Copenhagen have a score of 7:8, United 12:14. So they would need Copenhagen to lose by at least 2 goals. Then the Red Devils would have a better score on their draw and would go into the Europa League at the expense of the Danish team.

Source: UEFA