Six things Manchester United must do to beat Bayern Munich

Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Manchester United have had a harrowing start to the season in almost every sense imaginable, and for the first time ever have lost three of their opening five Premier League games. Just after a demoralising defeat by Brighton, they now begin their Champions League campaign away to Bayern Munich.

Of all the opponents United could have hoped to face next as they bid to pull themselves out of the giant hole they find themselves in, Bayern would be one of the last. The Bavarians have won 11 Bundesliga titles in a row and have not lost at home in the Champions League group stages for 10 years.

They have made an unbeaten start to the season in Germany while their already formidable attack is now led by Harry Kane, who United dreamed of signing in the summer. Kane has made a prolific start to life with his new club, scoring four goals in his opening four matches, while Rasmus Hojlund, the man United signed instead, is not yet fit enough to play 90 minutes for Erik ten Hag's side.

Given how Brighton, Arsenal, Tottenham and even the defeated Wolves and Nottingham Forest have exposed United defensively this season, Wednesday's match has the potential to get very ugly for the Red Devils, especially when considering how badly they have fared away from home in the last two seasons.

However, Bayern have some areas of vulnerability that United can exploit if they play their cards right. GOAL outlines some of the ways Ten Hag's side can get at Bayern and pull off an unlikely result that can kickstart their season...


Target Upamecano

Get Rashford out wide
Putting Upamecano under pressure is not the only reason to put Rashford on the left of the attack. It is by far his best position and the one he prefers. Ten Hag had little choice but to play Rashford as a centre-forward in United's first two matches against Wolves and Tottenham due to injuries to Hojlund and Anthony Martial, and he suffered as a result.

Rashford was far more effective against Nottingham Forest and Arsenal when he played off the left, getting an assist and a goal, respectively. Against Brighton, however, he played in a front two with Hojlund as Ten Hag tried out a diamond midfield formation in the absence of a right winger.

Rashford was still United's most dangerous player but it was far from the perfect performance. While he did spend a lot of the time playing down the left-hand side, he spent too much time centrally, where he has admitted he is not comfortable.

"Although I feel like centre-forward you've got less distance to cover to score simple goals, I do prefer left," he told Gary Neville on The Overlap. "Left is easier to stay in the game, and from when I was young I've always wanted to be involved in the game. That's why I struggle playing centre-forward sometimes because of my patience.

"The angles of the runs that you make in behind... most of my game is running in behind and trying to stretch defences and give space to some of the other players, and I feel like I run too far inside sometimes and then I'm running backwards to get the ball. Whereas on the left it's more natural, feels more normal."

Ensuring Rashford can attack from the left is the best way for United to cause Bayern problems and it's crucial that their greatest asset plays where he knows he is at his most dangerous.

Give Fernandes room to cause damage

The diamond formation Ten Hag used against Brighton also did not play to the strengths of Bruno Fernandes, United's most important all-round player. The Portuguese has excelled in a deeper role lately, allowing him to dictate play and launch incisive balls into the paths of Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho on the counter-attack.

United will inevitably have to play on the counter for large chunks of the game in Munich and Fernandes' vision for long, defence-splitting passes can be a lethal weapon. And to make the most of his qualities, he needs to sit a little deeper and not be as advanced as he was against Brighton.
Dayot Upamecano will have dreadful memories of his last two appearances in the Champions League. The France centre-back was given an utterly torrid time by Manchester City in both legs of Bayern's quarter-final tie.

In the first leg at the Etihad Stadium, he played his part in two of City's goals, being robbed by Jack Grealish before Bernardo Silva's header and then failing to pick up Erling Haaland. He also fell over when Grealish ran at him early in the game and almost gifted the England winger a goal after a mix-up with goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

Early in the second leg, Upamecano was shown a red card for bringing down Haaland, only to be spared by a VAR review which ruled that the striker was offside. England fans will also remember how Bukayo Saka ran Upamecano ragged in the World Cup quarter-final defeat to France.

He is undoubtedly Bayern's weakest link and there are various ways to get at him. Playing Marcus Rashford on the left wing will allow United's most dangerous player to run at Bayern's most vulnerable, while Hojlund has the strength and speed to trouble him through the middle. The Dane relished the battle with Gabriel Magalhaes on his debut at Arsenal and here is another opportunity to put his physical attributes to good use.

Let Onana dictate the play

Even though United ended up losing at Arsenal with two late strikes, Andre Onana's performance at the Emirates Stadium offered a blueprint for future away trips against top sides. The Cameroonian's passing and control of the ball was top notch, and the way he dictated United's play allowed them to keep the ball for long periods and beat the Gunners' press, as well as limiting the damage Mikel Arteta's side could do. As Johan Cruyff famously said, when you have the ball, the opposition cannot score.

While United don't want to turn into the sterile team in possession that they often were under Louis van Gaal, they need to be much better at controlling the ball. Witness, for example, how Brighton scored their second goal at Old Trafford after keeping the ball for 90 seconds and making 30 passes.

Onana holds the key to making United better in possession and if they can have the ball for stretches of the game they will also frustrate the home crowd, which could play into their hands.

Keep Kane at a distance

United may not have faced Bayern for nine years but they know their new No.9 extremely well, and whilst it is far easier said than done, they can work on a strategy to contain Kane. Indeed, with a few notable exceptions, they have been pretty effective at keeping Kane quiet over the years.

Kane only scored two goals in open play in his previous 10 matches against United and none in his last four. He was almost anonymous in United's dominant 2-0 win over Tottenham at Old Trafford last year and he failed to score in the 2-2 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, although he did set up Son Heung-min's equaliser.

The England captain has been on fire for Bayern, scoring four goals in his four starts, and he bagged a close-range header from a corner in Friday's 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.

Kane has excelled as a playmaker over the last few years and is now as deadly from deep as he is in the area. However, United's best chance of getting a result at the Allianz Arena is to restrict Kane to playing deeper and creating opportunities rather than finishing them.

Although Bayern have a number of dangerous forwards such as Serge Gnabry (last season's top scorer), Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala, none of them are nearly as dangerous as Kane in the box, which is a big reason why they paid £86 million ($106m) to sign him. Kane is the last person United will want to see in the box so they should try as much as they can to limit his space in advanced areas and force him deeper.

Use Hannibal & Garnacho's fearlessness

Many of United's usual stars have struggled to get going so far this season, with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Fernandes all cutting miserable figures. But in times of trouble it is so often the young, fearless players who can make an impact.

Think Adnan Januzaj in David Moyes' nightmare season in charge, or Rashford in Van Gaal's difficult second campaign. United now have two youngsters in their squad who have a real chance of rising above the doom and making a name for themselves in Munich.

Garnacho has already shown how much he loves the limelight and has a habit of producing clutch moments even at the age of 19, while Hannibal Mejbri is the latest player from United's academy to step forward. The Tunisian had a real impact from the bench against Brighton after a impressing in pre-season, and it was thanks to his audacious long-range strike that United briefly had hope of a comeback.

Hannibal has the energy and determination that a lot of United's other midfielders seem to be lacking, while Garnacho has the capacity to change a game in a flash. Ten Hag needs to make use of both of them and give them at least 20 minutes, if not more, to show what they are made of.