Manchester United refuse to give up on Champions League dream
Skinner’s objection to the idea that his side might have been better advised to drop a little deeper to prevent Harder from making those runs was logical.
“There are two mistakes caused by us here,” he said.
“If you put pressure on the ball you can’t play a long ball. They tried a few times and put the ball out of play.
“It worked for them tonight but if I stop those two chances they won’t score.”
It sounds simple. But execution is the ultimate key. If you don’t do this correctly you will be penalized.
There are a number of small details that explain why United ended up on the wrong end of a tight result.
One of these is undoubtedly staff depth.
Take Japanese midfielder Hinata Miyazawa, who played in Sunday’s Asian Cup final in Sydney and later returned for United.
In contrast, Tanikawa, who did not feature against Australia, started on the bench for Bayern, who were aware of the effects of jetlag and wanted the midfielder to make an impact, and he did so by setting up Harder and then scoring the winning goal.
Skinner doesn’t have enough players to rotate like that.
The next few days are particularly challenging, with another Old Trafford clash against Women’s Super League leaders Manchester City on Saturday before a trip to Germany for the second leg against Bayern next Wednesday (17:45 BST).
“We are the team playing the most football in Europe this year and we have a really small squad at the moment so that will challenge us,” Skinner said.
“It will take us into the depths. But the carrot is there for us.
“We expect it to be difficult. You can kind of direct your mind to what you need to do.
“That’s why my players are at Manchester United. If they didn’t want to do this, they wouldn’t be at this club. They will definitely give everything.”
