(Football news) The two teams have nine European titles between them and last met in a competitive match nine years ago, when Bayern won 3-1 in a quarter-final second-leg game, while they last met in the group stage back in 2001.
Bayern Munich’s perfect start to the new Bundesliga season came to an end last Friday when they were forced to settle for a point in a dramatic 2-2 draw at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Alex Grimaldo cancelled out Harry Kane’s 300th career club goal midway through the first half, before Leon Goretzka thought he had won it for the hosts with an 86th-minute strike, but Leverkusen snatched a point in dramatic fashion when Exequiel Palacios converted a penalty kick in the fourth minute of stoppage time following a VAR review.
Head coach Thomas Tuchel felt that his team ‘needed more bite’ across the pitch to get over the line, and the former Chelsea manager will be eager to put things right for Wednesday’s Group A opener against Manchester United, a team that the German boss has never beaten on home soil as a manager in four previous attempts.
Bayern have never lost at home to the Red Devils, winning three and drawing two, and Tuchel’s men will be confident of advancing to the Champions League knockout stages for the 16th consecutive year, as they are strong favourites to finish first in Group A, ahead of Manchester United, Galatasaray, and Copenhagen.
The German giants have established themselves as Champions League group-stage experts over the years, with a remarkable 34-game unbeaten run at this stage, the longest such run in the competition’s history, and they will be looking for a record-extending 14th consecutive group-stage home win on Wednesday.
Following a difficult week off the pitch, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was hoping for a positive result and performance from his players last weekend, but the Dutchman was left with plenty to think about after his side were booed off in a disappointing 3-1 home defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Danny Welbeck haunted his former club with a first-half goal, before Pascal Gross and Joao Pedro scored after the break to help a well-oiled Brighton machine cruise to victory against a disjointed Manchester United side, who have now lost three of their first five Premier League games for the first time in the Premier League’s history.
Ten Hag has stated that Man United are not in crisis, despite being 13th in the league and nine points behind league leaders and fierce rivals Manchester City. He has encouraged his side to “stick to the plan” as they attempt to turn their fortunes around.
The Red Devils have back-to-back away games coming up, with a top-flight travel to Burnley on Saturday followed by a difficult trip to Bavaria to face Bayern Munich, whom they have won just one of their last eight Champions League encounters.
Man United have only lost more Champions League games against Barcelona (five) than they have against Bayern (four), though Red Devils fans will remember the historic 1999 final triumph over the German club under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, one of only two wins against the Bundesliga side in Europe’s most prestigious club competition.
Bayern Munich form in all competitions
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Manchester United form in all competitions
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