Jamie Carragher makes damning Erik ten Hag claim after Manchester United exit Champions League

Former Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher accused Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag of 'clutching at straws' after he praised his team for their performance in Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at Old Trafford.

United limped out of the Champions League following Kingsley Coman's second half winner for the German heavyweights. The Reds finished bottom of Group A, meaning they will not participate in either the Champions League or the Europa League after Christmas.

The Reds had to beat Bayern and hope that the other Group A clash between FC Copenhagen and Galatasaray ended all square. Copenhagen won 1-0 to clinch second, meaning Galatasaray finished third and will now move into the Europa League.

READ MORE: United player ratings vs Bayern as Reds exit Champions League

READ MORE: Harry Kane explains how Bayern planned to 'hurt' United

Though Ten Hag was right to acknowledge that United had lost their place in the Champions League because of results earlier in the campaign, he praised his side's performance on Tuesday evening, despite them registering just one shot on target in a must-win game. United failed to attack the contest with the energy and desire they should have done.

With the Dutchman's admission in mind, Carragher raised concerns about the way standards have been allowed to drop at Old Trafford, suggesting that a 1-0 defeat to one of Europe's biggest clubs was acceptable because it was an upgrade on Saturday's 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth.

Asked if the bar is too low, Carragher, appearing on CBS Sports, said: "Yes. I think what happens is, because it has been so poor for Manchester United this season, you are playing one of the top teams in Europe and you are missing injured players, so I think