Opinion: Can the Reds bounce back in Bavaria?

Yes, Saturday’s defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion will have increased the nerves for Manchester United fans in the build-up to Wednesday’s Champions League opener against Bayern Munich.

But, as not-so-distant memories have shown us, the clash in the German giants’ backyard may actually present the perfect opportunity for Erik ten Hag’s side to quell concerns and get back on track in 2023/24.

If we rewind to the beginning of last season, after a home defeat to Brighton and that away loss at Brentford, there was a lot of concern among United supporters.

Ten Hag’s side responded with that memorable victory over Liverpool at Old Trafford and then followed it up with an impressive triumph against then-unbeaten Arsenal to change the narrative on our season completely.

Erik has spoken in the past of his team’s ability to bounce back from disappointing losses and produce superb performances in the weeks following.

And what better stage to do it at than the Allianz Arena?

United visit the iconic home of Bayern Munich for the first time in nine years on Wednesday and it also holds significance for Ten Hag, who managed their B team prior to his spells at Utrecht and Ajax.

Surely the Dutchman would love nothing more than to get one over his former employers, and for the side that he is carefully constructing to click back into gear.

The path to success was never going to be straightforward.

As a metaphor I remember from my time in A-Level English states: An arrow must be pulled back beyond its origin in order to fire forward and accelerate towards its target.

Despite our early-season results, there have been plenty of signs that United could kick into gear soon.

New striker Rasmus Hojlund is a clear positive, providing pace, power and a focal point from which the Reds can build attacks.

In turn, Marcus Rashford is back on the left. His breakaway goal in our defeat at Arsenal, as with many of his goals from a similar position last term, is a timely reminder of just what he is capable of.

Now is certainly not the time to panic. The Reds have shown in the past, particularly on the big stage, an incredible resilience to bounce back and produce impressive performances.

Challenges rarely come bigger than taking on Bayern Munich in their own backyard, where they haven’t lost a Champions League group-stage game in 34 matches.

But as they say, you have to beat the best to be the best.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.