Thomas Tuchel sympathises with Erik ten Hag after Man Utd's Champions League exit
- Tuchel has pointed to Man Utd's injury issues as a reason for their early Champions League exit
- Man Utd finished bottom of Group A behind Bayern, Kobenhavn and Galatasaray
- The Red Devils conceded a whopping 15 goals in six games
Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has sympathised with Erik ten Hag following Manchester United's exit from the UEFA Champions League.
The Red Devils were eliminated from the competition, and Europe altogether, following their matchday six defeat at the hands of Bayern at Old Trafford - their fourth defeat of the group stage. By losing 1-0, United also broke the record for most goals conceded by an English team in the Champions League group stages, shipping a whopping 15 goals in just six games.
Speaking to the press post-match, Bayern boss Tuchel was keen to sympathise with Ten Hag, pointing to United's injury concerns as a key reason the club were knocked out of the Champions League.
"Almost always I feel sympathy for the other coach but we try everything to win matches, these are the goals of high level sports but of course I have sympathy, he has a lot of key players injured for a decisive match, they lack the personality and maybe the width to change games from the bench," Tuchel said.
"It is not an easy time but I am pretty sure he knows what to do next and he does not need my advice or clapping on the shoulders, he is experienced enough to go through it. I had not a nice moment last Saturday and sometimes you feel pretty lonely as a coach."
Ten Hag has indeed been without a number of key players in recent weeks, with Christian Eriksen, Mason Mount, Marcus Rashford, Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez among those who weren't fit to face Bayern on Tuesday evening.
Tuchel also admitted that he was surprised by the Red Devils' performances in the Champions League, stating that he had expected United to challenge Bayern at the top of the group.
"This is a huge club and [it's] not what you expect. In the group you expect also Manchester United challenging for the win of the group and a place in the round of 16 but in my experience I can tell you we had a difficult group," he added.
"The matches were tight, the results were narrow so you could see everything was possible until today for Manchester United. In some of the matches games changed in a blink of an eye. They were comfortable in the lead in Istanbul and gave it away, they were comfortable in the lead in Copenhagen.
"It is a big club, they are a dangerous team."
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