Erik ten Hag’s side would have arguably found a young striker who can pull them out of their dismal start to the season.
It’s a measure of where Manchester United are in this poisonous start to the season, a start to a season where things keep happening and where things are divided into 3 distinct types, bad things, very bad things. and horrible things, which after the 4-3 defeat in Munich didn’t look like much of a disappointment.
Sometimes they’re almost like the green shoots of something. Or at least that was the case when Rasmus Højlund scored his first goal for the club; or in the early moments when United pressed well; And then, towards the end, when they refused to die and kept coming in relentless waves of zombies.
Of course, it’s also a Harry Kane story, to some extent. All the communication around that game about Kane and United, a non-movement that has since taken on a life of its own, a component of the ever-recycled narrative of sadness that surrounds Old Trafford.
Should Manchester United have bought Kane? It is strange that the consultation is made and that they explain why it was not carried out: he is 30 years old; and Daniel Levy is annoying – they’re even weirder. Does this sound like ruthless executive action?
The truth is that United signed Kane two or three years ago, just trying hard enough. The big clubs are meant to actively recruit wonderful players. United are hoping to have a functional and high-class centre-forward.
On the other hand, the list of centre-forwards signed since Alex Ferguson’s departure tells its own story: Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Radamel Falcao, Edinson Cavani, the Old Ronaldo; Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst on loan. Romelu Lukaku lasted two years. And now they have Højlund, on whose shoulders rest many things, which hold so many tender promises.
Kane scored, of course. He looks stylish in the Bayern shirt, he looks genuinely elite in those colours. His 16th throw-in, 10 minutes into the second half, gave him a penalty to make it 3-1. Kane took two steps back and whipped her with throbbing force. in the corner. No disguise, no feints, just direct, natural lines.
It’s a more minimal Kane. Thomas Tuchel joined via Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sané as the attacking flank, with Jamal Musiala right behind, the combined effect of a whirlwind of speed, agility, shining feet (and Harry Kane).
Musiala is one of Europe’s most productive artistic players, with a wonderful passing sense. Bayern don’t want a number 10 to obstruct the spaces. He wants barbed wire. And it’s quite comforting to see that Kane no longer decided to invent the game on his own, to carry his team around his entire shield like 10 dying comrades.
In fact, in the end, it’s hard to prove that signing Kane now, at this United team, would have been an end in itself, a solution to the holes in midfield or the innate cultural stupidity at the back.
Perhaps in Højlund they possibly have the promising and not easy 20-year-old centre-forward they want at the moment, Mr Right Now, in a team that has lacked that energy. He played pretty well. He touched the ball 8 times in the first half. There was a header that he could also find in the goal thanks to a fair cross from Diogo Dalot. But Højlund also possesses what Erik ten Hag wanted: the ability to put pressure on the opposition. spaces close to the goal.
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And 4 minutes into the second half, he scored, a messy, disjointed finish in precisely the right position when the ball slipped sideways through Marcus Rashford. These are the smart times for a No. 9, things that seem simple but aren’t.
United’s season will pass. Family fragility will remain. The team is devastated by injuries and is uneven. At 3-1, Jonny Evans and Scott McTominay were warming up.
There was also a moment of horror for André Onana with Bayern’s first goal. It was a depressing mistake, at the time and on stage. Kane helped get there, returning the ball to Sané. It was a little too far away. He shot, but straight at Onana, who jumped over the ball.
So far, Onana has gone through some strange moments in his short career at United. Does it feel like a waterproof barrier? Sometimes it seems as if someone is jumping uncontrollably near a football game.
But now there’s an anti-energy in this club. Sign up for Manchester United as a young player with a superior spirit, with a sense of destiny of your own. Almost immediately, you become anything else: you become a Manchester United player. A component of that directory ship, a position where all the carts are missing wheels, where everyone loses something vital.
It’s a lesson from Munich. Kane, alone, is never going to fix this team. But in Højlund, United at least have some energy.