Erik ten Hag is confident that if his wildly inconsistent Manchester United side can produce one of their better performances, it will be good enough to see off Bayern Munich tomorrow night.
United have shown their best and worst over the past week – performing well in a 2-1 win against Chelsea last Wednesday night before turning in a dismal display three days later as Bournemouth cruised to a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford.
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That inconsistency has already threatened their progress in the Champions League with United having to beat Bayern and hope the other Group A game between Copenhagen and Galatasaray finishes in a draw in order to finish second, though a victory will at least guarantee them a third-place finish and Europa League football.
Ten Hag said: “I never think in negative scenarios. We think positively, we know what we have to do. We have to win to stay in Europe so it’s all about that.
“I will prepare the team with that feeling and the belief that we are able to do it. We have shown in the last few weeks that when we are at our best we can do it.
“We are not consistent, clearly, but we have good performances and, if we have the right spirit, we are able to beat anyone.”
Prior to the Bournemouth debacle, United had shown some decent form with Ten Hag named Premier League Manager of the Month last week.
He added: “The game against Chelsea, and the game against Everton [a 3-0 win], even the game against Galatasaray [a 3-3 draw in Istanbul]…I know this team can perform at really high levels.
“And it’s not like we did it three months ago, we did it last week. If everyone is ready we can do it.
“We have to show them clips from the Chelsea game, how we can play and if we do that, being on the same page and sticking together, we can beat any opponent.”
🗯️ “If we are in the right spirit, we are able to beat any opponent,” Erik adds.
“I know this team can play at the highest level if we have the right attitude and the right spirit.” 👊#MUFC || #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 11, 2023
Ten Hag also called on the Old Trafford crowd to create a hostile atmosphere and roar on the players.
“Old Trafford is not a nice place to come for an opponent,” he said.
“We are aware it starts with us but I have the feeling that we are absolutely together. There’s a very strong bond between the team and the fans even when we have very big setbacks.
“We have to take responsibility, it starts with us to energise them.”
Bayern were thumped 5-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday and, even though they have already qualified, will arrive in Manchester determined to right the wrongs of that performance.
“When you play against Bayern Munich, you have to play your best,” said Ten Hag.
“They have a very good team with good individuals but Chelsea also have amazing players and we dominated that game. I think we can do it against Bayern as well.”
