In the Champions League on Wednesday, Bayern Munich defeated struggling Manchester United 4-3 at home thanks to a penalty kick from Harry Kane.
After a dismal run of results and a plethora of off-field problems, United traveled to Germany and found no solace from Bayern, who had already won their previous 20 Champions League opening matches.
Erik ten Hag’s struggling United suffered their fourth loss in only six games in all competitions this season, unable to recover from their humiliating Premier League loss to Brighton at home last weekend, 3-1.
In the 28th minute, Leroy Sane’s poor attempt was allowed by visiting goalkeeper Andre Onana to into the net, and then Serge Gnabry stroked home the second to give Bayern the lead.
Early in the second half, Kane scored a penalty after Rasmus Hojlund had pulled one back.
After Casemiro’s last-minute goal against the run of play, United had a short moment of optimism until Mathys Tel, a replacement for Bayern, awarded the home team a fourth goal in extra time.
In the last assault of the game, Brazilian Casemiro gave United another consolation goal with a nod.
Bayern, the six-time European winners, topped the early Group A standings after Galatasaray and FC Copenhagen’s 2-2 tie in Istanbul on Wednesday.
Ten Hag said before to the game that his team will learn to “focus on the process” from the obstacles.
They dominated possession early on and put Bayern on the defensive.
Onana made a terrible error, however, and Kane and Sane’s deft play allowed Bayern to grab the lead.
After dodging his defender, Sane threaded the ball to Kane, who then steered it back into the former Manchester City winger’s path.
When Sane slipped the ball goalward, Onana easily stopped it from going in, letting it drip into the net.
Onana was left looking helpless on the Allianz Arena field as Bayern rejoiced.
If Bayern’s first was a result of a combination of teamwork and luck, their second was primarily the result of Jamal Musiala’s individual genius.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who was reared in England, got the ball close to the halfway line and dribbled goalward, dodging numerous United players as he went square for Gnabry.
The former striker for Arsenal sent the ball into the goal with a powerful strike, sending United reeling from a strong but unspectacular start down 2-0.
Just after the break, United’s summer addition Hojlund was found by Marcus Rashford after a bad back ball from Musiala, and his deflected effort eluded goalkeeper Sven Ulreich, giving the visiting supporters some optimism.
But, United’s optimism was short-lived as a VAR review revealed Christian Eriksen had handballed inside the area.
United protested the ruling, pointing out that Eriksen was obviously attempting to pull his arm back in the few time he had to respond. However, Kane took the spot kick and scored for Bayern, his fifth goal in five appearances.
Mathys Tel’s goal and a late strike from Casemiro helped United rally, although Bayern was never really in danger of losing the three points.