Round-up: Galatasaray win chaotic clash against Manchester United, Jude Bellingham stars for Real Madrid again
Zaha scores as ’embarrassing’ Man Utd slump to defeat
Manchester United and Arsenal were both beaten on a dramatic night in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League group stage.
United twice gave up a lead and saw Casemiro sent off as they lost 3-2 at home to Galatasaray to remain without a point in Group A.
Rasmus Hojland gave United the lead when he finished from Marcus Rashford’s cross in the 17th minute.
But United were soon pegged back as former player Wilfried Zaha bundled in a deflected equaliser on his return to Old Trafford.
Hojland had a second goal ruled out for offside but then coolly converted to make it 2-1 after a slip gave him the chance to break clear.
Galatasaray again hit back to equalise through Kerem Akturkoglu and were then awarded a penalty for a foul from behind by Casemiro on Dries Mertens in the box.
Casemiro was shown a second yellow and sent off, but Mauro Icardi dragged the penalty wide.
Icardi made amends, though, shortly afterwards as he was played through and coolly dinked over Andre Onana for the winner.
Defeat leaves United bottom of the group after two matches.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions tonight,” said TNT Sports expert and former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.
“One minute I’m sitting here going, ‘Well, we look like a team that showed potential and have something to be positive about’ and all of a sudden I’m sitting there with my head in my hands thinking there’s an absolute lack of organisation at times.
“You have experienced players through the middle of this team and there’s no organisation defensively. We score goals and at that moment, you’re told as a kid as well, that’s when you’re at your most vulnerable. That’s where you’ve got to be your most concentrated, and we go to sleep.
“We’re being cut open like a hot knife through butter at times and it’s embarrassing.
“This is the Champions League, it’s not like we’re playing school football. This is the Champions League and some of the mistakes you’re seeing, a lack of positional and spatial awareness. A lack of smelling danger, at this level you’re going to get punished and they were tonight.”
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told TNT Sports: “The fundamental errors we make, we normally we wouldn’t have in the game, you can’t allow them at this level. You get punished for it.
“This is difficult to control but we are all in this together. It’s not only one making such errors, it’s as a team. It was totally unnecessary, because we were twice up and in control of the game, you don’t expect this outcome.
“We expect more together, the players and me all expect more.”
Musiala scores stunner as Bayern battle back
Bayern Munich fought back to claim a 2-1 win at FC Copenhagen.
Bayern dominated possession but it was Copenhagen who took the lead when Lukas Lerager fired in after the visitors failed to clear.
Bayern needed some individual brilliance from Jamal Musiala to level as he shook off several challenges on the edge of the box and found the bottom corner.
Two Bayern substitutes combined for the winner, with Thomas Muller holding off a challenge and then teeing up Mathys Tel to score.
Gunners lose to Lens after ‘disappointing performance’
Arsenal took the lead in their Group B encounter against Lens as Bukayo Saka set up Gabriel Jesus to score.
But the Gunners then suffered a double setback before half-time as Adrien Thomasson equalised before Saka went off with injury.
It got worse for Arsenal as Elye Wahi expertly swept in a cross in the 69th minute to give Lens victory.
Arsenal, who next play Manchester City in the Premier League, are now second in the group, a point behind leaders Lens.
“It wasn’t a disaster but it couldn’t have gone much worse,” said TNT Sports expert Martin Keown.
“Disappointing performance, disappointing result, and Saka getting injured.
“They showed a bit of character there at the end and couldn’t quite get back into the game. I think they’ll be disappointed.”
Asked about Saka’s injury after the loss, Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told TNT Sports: “It was a backheel and he felt something on this specific action. He was too uncomfortable to continue.”
Arteta did not say how long he thinks Saka could be out for.
PSV snatch point after dramatic finale
PSV Eindhoven grabbed an injury-time 2-2 draw against Sevilla in a game that saw three goals scored after the 85th minute.
Nemanja Gudelj put Sevilla ahead in the 68th minute, but PSV responded when Luuk de Jong converted from the penalty spot with four minutes to go.
That was not the end of the scoring as Youssef En-Nesyri made it 2-1 to Sevilla almost immediately.
With time running out, PSV equalised again as a free-kick was chipped into the box and fell down to Jordan Teze to score in the 95th minute.
Sevilla are on two points in Group B and PSV are on one.
Bellingham star of show as Valverde rocket sees Madrid win
Jude Bellingham starred for Real Madrid in a 3-2 win at Napoli in Group C.
The England international continued his stunning start to life in Madrid by setting up Vinicius Junior to equalise after Leo Ostigard had put the hosts ahead.
There was even better to come as Bellingham scored a brilliant solo goal, running from midway inside the Napoli half, cutting past a defender and slotting into the corner.
Napoli equalised after half-time when Piotr Zielinski converted a penalty which was given after a VAR check for handball.
But Real snatched the win when a shot from Federico Valverde hit the bar and cannoned in off goalkeeper Alex Meret.
Heartbreak for Union again on home CL debut
Braga came from two goals behind to beat Union Berlin 3-2 at the latter’s temporary ground in the Bundesliga outfit’s first home game in the Champions League.
Hertha Berlin’s 74,000-capacity stadium Olympiastadion is being used by rivals Union for the Champions League campaign – much to the disapproval of the majority of Union fans – and the home side wasted the chance to become only the second of the last 14 debutants in the competition to win their opening home fixture.
After drawing a blank in their opening Champions League game against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu – their first-ever game in the competition – Robin Gosens thought he had given Union Berlin an early lead when he forced home a close-range effort in the fourth minute.
The hosts’ celebrations were quickly cut short, however, when a VAR check found Union skipper Sheraldo Becker had made a run down the right wing a fraction too early and was ruled offside.
But Becker’s pace and quality continued to give the Braga defence problems and his persistence paid off, scoring the club’s first Champions League goal on the half-hour mark.
Astonishingly, he doubled the host’s lead when he capitalised on a disjointed Braga defence to break through on goal and plant the ball in the top left corner.
But 2-0 is a dangerous scoreline in football and teams are often most vulnerable when they’ve just scored – as the Champions League new boys found out.
Minutes after Becker had doubled Union’s lead, Sikou Niakate tapped in Frederik Ronnow’s weak save which he palmed into the lively defender’s path to give the visitors a shred of momentum going into the break.
And it didn’t take long before Braga were level.
Five minutes into the second half, Bruma thrashed home a 30-yard strike following a well-worked corner to draw level, leaving themselves at least 40 minutes to find a winner.
They left it late, but they did eventually find the goal to silence the loud Olympiastadion.
Andre Castro’s one-touch strike from the edge of the box broke Union hearts in the fourth minute of stoppage-time.
Real Sociedad end wait for CL win with win in Austria
Real Sociedad ended a 20-year wait for their first Champions League win by beating RB Salzburg 2-0 in Austria.
Goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Brais Mendez helped the visitors avoid equalling the longest away losing run by a Spanish team in the competition, set by Villarreal between 2009 and 2021.
La Real stunned those inside the Red Bull Arena with both goals inside the first half-hour of the game.
Oyarzabal struck in the seventh minute, driving into the box and opening up his body to delicately steer the ball into the far corner.
Following a well-worked team move, Real Sociedad doubled their lead in the 25th minute.
Mendez carried the ball from the halfway line following a killer Take Kubo through ball, shimmied past two Salzburg defenders before neatly guiding the ball into the bottom right corner.
Thuram gives 2023 finalists first European win of season
Marcus Thuram scored the winner as Inter Milan edged past Benfica 1-0.
Thuram finished just after the hour mark as Inter moved up to four points, behind leaders Real Sociedad on goal difference.
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