The 2023-24 Champions League group stage is all wrapped up after a dramatic final matchday across Europe. Paris Saint-Germain clinched Group F’s remaining spot in the Round of 16 as AC Milan dropped to the Europa League and Newcastle United finished bottom. Meanwhile, things went from bad to worse for Manchester United, who also finished last in their group and are out of Europe altogether.
We asked ESPN writers Gab Marcotti, Rob Dawson, Sam Marsden and Julien Laurens to answer some of our burning questions.
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Contents
1. Manchester United’s problems are piling up after their exit from Europe as they hit another new low. Is it time to move on from manager Erik ten Hag? Why/why not?
Rob Dawson: Ten Hag has enough credit in the bank for what he did last season and at least deserves the chance to turn things around. There are bigger issues at Old Trafford than the manager and with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS coming in to oversee football operations, Ten Hag should be first to have a go under the new regime. That said, results this season haven’t been good enough and finishing bottom of Group A is a massive blow, so things will have to change quickly or the pressure on the Dutchman will reach a point where there’s no option but to let him go.
Julien Laurens: This is a really difficult one. We saw some interesting things from him last season. There was a third-place finish, the Carabao Cup win, some good individual form from some players, and Old Trafford had become a fortress. So how has this season become so bad? I think Ten Hag took progress for granted and just assumed the squad would build on last year. He got his recruitment wrong and has been hit by injuries too. If you add the Jadon Sancho issue, the Marcus Rashford issue, and the media leaks issue together, you…
