Against the same opponents about twenty-five years earlier, they sung nonstop about one of the great Champions League miracles. 

In 1999, at the Nou Camp, they chanted the song of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s injury-time goal. 

The Manchester United team that somehow rallied from a 1-0 down in the last seconds of a lackluster performance was the stuff of legend, according to their songs.

However, this United squad is far from being exceptional. They have lost all six of their European matches and are, at best, mediocre.  

Memory Lane is a better description of this location than the Theatre of Dreams.

Here you can find mementos of former greats like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Matt Busby, music by Solskjaer and Eric Cantona, and almost little discussion of the present crop, a costly team that is deteriorating as Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag’s squad had every mathematical reason to go all out against Bayern Munich, but they failed miserably in creating any meaningful scoring opportunities. 

With England captain Harry Kane angling a ball that sent United’s defence reeling and Kingsley Coman hammering home in the middle of the second half, the German perennial champions won despite not having to. 

The disappointing Premier League season that United had indicates that Old Trafford will not play home to top-tier European action until September 2025, if that. 

United will not even have the solace of playing in the Europa League in the new year as a result of this loss.

After a campaign that was both disastrous and disorganized, they certainly did not deserve anything.  

Bayern cruised to a win at Old Trafford, continuing a trend that began on Saturday against Bournemouth and continued this season against Newcastle, Manchester City, Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, and Brighton. 

Nobody thinks Ten Hag’s job is in jeopardy right now because they’ve attempted to replace Ferguson with so many managers that there aren’t many left. 

This boring squad, this football club, will shortly be joined by the wealthy Earth-bothering fracker Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his dubious cycling partner, Sir Dave Brailsford. 

But that won’t happen until this Sunday, when United go to Anfield to take on Liverpool, who are currently atop the league and thrashed United 7-0 in their previous encounter. 

With Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw out with injuries, Ten Hag will have an even more formidable task ahead of him. 

The thousands of United fans who showed up at Old Trafford well before the final whistle did little more than shrug their shoulders, revealing an atmosphere of resignation and apathy.   

Prior to Coman’s goal, United’s chances of winning this Group A match were dependent on a draw between Copenhagen and Galatsaray. However, after the goal, Ten Hag’s squad decided that the match in Copenhagen didn’t matter. 

It was hard to argue with their assessment after looking at the destruction that was this Champions League season; United had let in 14 goals and were fortunate to be in the hunt going into this last match.

Ten Hag found himself in an even more precarious situation following Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth.  

Due to illness, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford were both benched, leaving Rasmus Hojlund to start and embarrassment to accompany him throughout the evening. 

Ever since their shocking 5-1 thrashing by Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayern have been playing at full strength, and their fast, fluid, and brilliant football has been a constant source of frustration for United. Kane often drops back into midfield to thwart United’s assaults and lead Bayern’s.

You could feel the anticipation building at Old Trafford despite the season’s tragedies as Antony occasionally wasted chances with darts down the right, but United’s players never managed to light the fuse. 

Alejandro Garnacho pushed Kingsley Coman into the advertising hoardings behind the Stretford End goal in an attempt to incite a petty altercation, and Manuel Neuer saved Shaw’s long-range strike. 

When Fernandes lost a heading duel with Dayot Upamecano, he threw himself to the floor, displaying more anger than captaincy. 

He personifies all that is wrong with Manchester United right now. They have an inflated feeling of entitlement that runs counter to their actual situation.

Even though Leroy Sane missed a golden opportunity to score from a volley, United were preventing Bayern from scoring.

After Harry Maguire hobbled off with a groin injury, Ten Hag had to make a double substitution in defense: Jonny Evans came on for Luke Shaw, then Aaron Wan-Bissaka came on for Shaw during halftime. 

With a quick cutback, Wan-Bissaka gave United their first good opportunity, but Fernandes could only manage to trouble United’s fans in Row Z with his shot. 

When word got out that Copenhagen had taken the lead, United were just getting going again, with Fernandes sending a shot barely wide. 

Bayern was winless in their 40th consecutive Champions League group game as soon as Kane played his pass and Coman was unable to miss. 

In the eleven seasons following Ferguson’s departure, United have advanced to the Champions League semifinals just twice. 

The atmosphere was charged with emotion as the players from Ten Hag were booed off the field at full time.

Until they are given another opportunity to compete at this level, it may be quite some time.