da brwin： The goalkeeper's howler deepened the manager's misery as the Red Devils made a nightmare return to the Champions League

da pinnacle： Manchester United should have been looking forward to their return to the Champions League, but recent form meant there was a sense of dread when they arrived at the Allianz Arena to meet Bayern Munich. And despite making a promising start, their fears were soon realised when Andre Onana made the biggest error of his short United career and gifted a goal to Leroy Sane, setting in motion a 4-3 defeat.

United brutally cut ties with David de Gea in the summer to sign Onana for £47m ($57m) as they valued his skills with the ball at his feet highly, but now the Cameroonian's weakness at keeping the ball out are a huge concern for Erik ten Hag, whose promising first year in charge has unravelled and turned into a nightmare second season both on and off the pitch.

Ten Hag has now lost a third consecutive game and if things do not improve quickly he might not even make it to the end of the season. The only consolation for United is that they kept fighting in the second half and that new signing Rasmus Hojlund scored his first goal. However, they might well have been wishing they had signed Harry Kane instead after the England captain enjoyed a fine Champions League debut with his new side.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from the Allianz Arena…

Getty ImagesWINNER: Harry Kane

England captain Kane was Ten Hag's top target at the start of the summer before the United hierarchy decided to focus on signing Hojlund instead. Bayern pressed on and got the deal over the line, and on this evidence, Kane must be glad he joined the Bavarians and not the sinking ship that is United.

Kane has only been a Bayern player for six weeks but he already looks well at home in Thomas Tuchel's side, and this was another fine performance from the club's record signing. He leaned more on his playmaking abilities here than his attributes as a No.9 and held the ball up to fine effect, laying the ball off for Sane's fortuitous opening goal.

Kane may have only had one shot in open play but his mere presence in the box made him a threat and he won the penalty, which he converted emphatically. He had to leave Tottenham to continue playing in the Champions League and he is not here just to take part in Europe's top competition, he wants to win it. If he keeps up his excellent start to life in Munich, he has a realistic chance of doing so.

AdvertisementGettyLOSER: Andre Onana

Onana's ball-playing ability is world-renowned and now so is his lack of shot-stopping ability. Sane's speculative shot, which broke the deadlock with Bayern's first attempt on target, was a goalkeeper's dream: from far out, struck centrally and with little venom.

But it somehow squirmed through the Cameroon international's hands and into the net, undoing all of United's hard work in the opening stages. The Red Devils chose to move on from De Gea after the Spaniard's powers at saving basic shots appeared to be declining, but it appears his replacement is similarly gaffe-prone.

Onana had been asked in the pre-match press conference whether he was annoyed that his ball skills get more attention than his capacity to save shots, and insisted he was as capable as making saves as he was at spraying passes about. He also said he was happy for his team-mates to "point the finger" at him. After a horrendous blunder in his biggest game so far, not to mention the fact he has conceded 14 goals in his first six competitive games, he better get used to many more fingers pointing his way.

At least he fronted up after the game and took full responsibility. 'I'm the one who let the team down. The team were good, I think because of me we didn't win the game," Onana told . "This is the life of a goalkeeper. It was the key point. I have to learn from it, be strong, move on. I have a lot to prove. My start in Manchester is not how I wanted. This was probably my worst game. It's tough, it's a tough time."

Getty ImagesWINNER: Jamal Musiala & Mathys Tel

Bayern do not just boast one of the best strikers in the world in Kane, they also have two generational talents on their hands in Jamal Musiala and Mathys Tel, who look set to help them rule German and European football for the next decade at least.

Musiala, who finished his footballing education with Bayern's academy after previous spells with Southampton and Chelsea, ripped his way through United's midfield and defence to set up Serge Gnabry's goal in one of the best moves of the night, but it was just one of many moments of class from the Germany international.

Meanwhile, substitute Tel, 18, had just a few minutes to make an impression off the bench but he did exactly that by sending the ball crashing into the net in added time to finally kill off United's resistance. The French teenager cost Bayern €28.5m in 2022, and if that seemed a lot of money for a 17-year-old, it sure looks worth it now.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Erik ten Hag

Ten Hag spent two formative years as head coach of Bayern's reserve team, working on the pitch next to Pep Guardiola. He looked back fondly on that era in the pre-match press conference, but this was anything but a happy return.

The Dutchman was not entirely to blame for what unfolded here as his side had made a strong start and it was not his fault that Onana made such a terrible and costly mistake. But he is ultimately the man responsible for United's fortunes, and right now the club's stock is falling fast.

The statistics make for grim reading for the United manager. He has lost three games in a row for the first time since taking charge in 2022, while the club have now conceded three or more goals in three consecutive games for the first time since December 1978 under Dave Sexton.

Ten Hag is also the first United manager to lose four of his opening six matches of the season since Ron Atkinson in 1986. Just a few weeks later, Atkinson was sacked and replaced by a certain Alex Ferguson. Will Ten Hag meet the same fate as Big Ron? He still has the support of most fans and the board, but things could well change if he succumbs to a fourth consecutive defeat at Burnley on Saturday.