Rio Ferdinand slams Man Utd for ‘criminal’ mistake after being dumped out of the Champions League

Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand slammed his former club after they were knocked out of the Champions League following a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.

Erik ten Hag's side mustered only one shot on target over the course of the 90 minutes, rarely testing Bayern's defence.

As it happened, a win would have knocked them out of the competition regardless, with Copenhagen securing victory over Galatasaray in the other game in Group A.

But United's failure to record a result means they are out of European competition altogether, having finished bottom of their four-team group.

Ten Hag tried to find some positives from the display, telling TNT Sports that United were 'very good' despite the loss and didn't deserve to lose.

But Ferdinand took up a different tone, with the former centre-back having had experience of two group stage eliminations while playing for United.

In 2005/06, Sir Alex Ferguson's side also finished bottom of a competitive group that contained Lille, Villarreal and Benfica, although would have progressed had they beaten the latter on the final matchday.

Ferdinand pinpointed United's performances in Copenhagen and Galatasaray as the key reason behind their early exit from Europe this season.

Despite taking a 3-1 lead in Turkey, Galatasaray fought back to level the scores at 3-3 and take United one step closer to elimination from the competition.

On matchday four, the Red Devils were 3-2 up with 10 minutes to play, but subsequently folded and 18-year-old Roony Bardghji scored a surprise late winner for the hosts.

And Ferdinand told TNT Sports: "It's disappointing. To score three goals in each away match and not take points is criminal.

"You only get what you deserve when you don't have the sense of goal or that we cannot kill matches."

United will now have to focus on the Premier League and FA Cup, having already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup at Old Trafford by Newcastle.

After two defeats without scoring a goal in the space of four days following Saturday's 3-0 home loss to Bournemouth, United know they need to bounce back when they travel to Anfield to take on Liverpool on Sunday.