Barney Ronay on the chaos in Istanbul
Erik ten Hag speaks
“We are winning and then we are losing,” says Manchester United’s manager in an interview with TNT. “We should have taken three points, clearly. This is the same in more games - home against Galatasaray and away in Copenhagen, we played so good. So I have to make a compliment to my team but I also have to criticise the team and us as a coaching staff and me as a manager. We are leading 3-1 and you can’t afford such mistakes we are making because it makes a difference. Every goal has it’s own story. Our mistakes can’t be, because in the Champions League you get punished for it so we have to learn from it.”
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Bruno Fernades speaks ...
He’s asked what the mood in the United dressing-room is: “I couldn’t go to the dressing-room because of the doping controls so I don’t know,” the United captain tells TNT. “Obviously, we concede really bad goals and I think we have to take control of those situations in all of them. We were two goals up twice and had far too many chances to score another goal and have the game closed. We weren’t clinical enough.
“At the end of the game we had four chances to score a goal but we couldn’t do it. We have to put our heads up and understand that sometimes it’s about finding another pass to the player that is free. We hasve to try to get the ball to the one in the best position and not take the chance ourselves. For the team first and then after for ourselves.”
If that last comment isn’t a dig at Anthony Martial, I’ll eat my own shoes.
Match report: Galatasaray 3-3 Manchester United
Group A: Andre Onana had another bad day at the office as Manchester United twice threw away a two-goal lead to leave their hopes of advancing to the knockout stages hanging by a thread. Here’s Will Unwin’s on-the-whistle report for the ages …
What now for United? It’s simple. If they are to qualify for the knockout stages, Erik ten Hag’s men have to hope Copenhagen don’t win against Bayern Munich tonight and then beat the German side at Old Trafford in a fortnight. Even that won’t be enough, as they’ll also need FC Copenhagen to beat or draw with Galatasaray in Denmark on the same evening. It’s a tall order and no mistake.
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A quick recap of a crazy game: Having gone two goals ahead courtesy of excellent strikes from Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernandes, Manchester let their hosts back into the game courtesy of a Hakin Ziyech free-kick that Andre Onana should almost certainly have saved. Scott McTominay restored United’s two-goal cushion with his first ever Champions League goal.
That should have been that, but with all discipline gone from both sides and the game increasingly resembling a basketball match, Ziyech struck at another free-kick with Onana badly at fault again. Galatasaray’s equaliser was the pick of the six goals, Kerem Akturkoglu coming off the bench to score with a sublime screamer from distance after teeing himself up with a wonderful first touch.
The game promptly descended into the footballing equivalent saloon brawl, with both sides going close multiple times in the frantic closing stages but ultimately unable to find a winner. It was an incredible match played in a bubbling cauldron and it will live long in the memory of all who saw or played in it.
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And breathe: That was a terrific game of football but due in no small part to the ropiness of their goalkeeper, Manchester United let a two-goal lead slip twice. They remain bottom of Group A with four points and can still qualify for the knockout stages going into match day six but will be out of the Champions League if FC Copenhagen beat Bayern Munich tonight.
Full time: Galatasaray 3-3 Manchester United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep! An astonishing game ends after just three minutes of added time with United having to settle for a draw.
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90 min: Torreira comes perilously close to scoring past his own goalkeeper, almost steering a Dalot pull-back into his own net. His unwitting “effort” is blocked by Boey and then Muslera saves brilliantly from Pellistri’s effort from close range on the follow-up. Galatasaray finally clear after this slapstick goalmouth scramble.
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87 min: Swinging haymakers at each other like two drunks slugging it out in a pub car-park, United and Galatasaray keep plugging away in their respective searches for a winner. Martial is the latest to go close but he runs into traffic in the Galatasaray penalty area, incurring the wrath of Fernandes for not playing an early pass.
86 min: United break upfield after Zaha’s near-miss and Bruno Fernandes hits the left upright with a speculative effort from 25 yards out. This is bonkers!!!
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85 min: … but he doesn’t! He cuts into the United penalty zarea, creates a yard of space with a stepover and shoots straight at Onana from 14 yards out.
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84 min: Zaha must score …
84 min: Galatasaray double-substitution: VBictor Nelsson and Baris Yilmaz on for Angelino and Ziyech.
82 min: Pellistri gets in behind Boey down the left flank, cuts insaide and runs into a pocket of space. With two United players outside him he elects to shoot and succeeds only in scooping the ball over the bar.
80 min: Antony jinks inside from the right, takes on and beats a couple of defenders and plays a weighted pass in behind for Dalot to chase. Fernando Muslera is quick off his line to deny the substitute. What Dalot is doing on the edge of Galatasaray’s six-yard box is anyone’s guess but it’s that kind of crazy game.
78 min: Manchester United double-substitution: Diogo Dalot and Facundo Pellistri on for Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alejandro Garnacho.
77 min: There are gaps opening up all over the place and Manchester United go close twice in quick succession. Garnacho sends a shot from distance curling inches wide of the upright, berfore McTominay finds himself through on goal and fires a low effort narrowly wide of the upright.
75 min: Manchester United are on the ropes and Galatasaray know it. They’re going all out for a winner in a match where both teams seem hell bent on throwing the kitchen sink at each other in this second half.
73 min: Sprinting towards goal and latching on to a ball over the top from deep, Akturcoglu controlled the ball beautifully with his first touch, taking it away from Mainoo. With his second he sent the ball screaming into the top corner before wheeling away to celebrate with a kneeslide towards the corner flag.
GOAL! Galatasaray 3-3 Manchester United (Akturkoglu 71)
Galatasaray equalise! And it’s a wonderful strike from the substitute. My word, what a game this has turned out to be.
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69 min: Galatasaray are looking lethal on the counter-attack and Ziyech goes close again, cutting in from the right and unleashing a shot that Onana parries under pressure from the onrushing Icardi.
67 min: On as a sub for Dries Mertens, Kerem Aktukoglu has a long-range effort saved with a minimum of fuss by Onana. Sergio Oliviera is also on for Galatasaray, with Tanguy Ndombele having made way after a very quiet hour.
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64 min: That was a lot worse than the first one from Onana’s point of view. The free-kick was wide on the right and Onana only set up a one-man defensive wall. Ziyech whipped the ball into the six-yard box, Onana got down to save it and somehow got gulled by the bounce. He managed to let the ball squirm out of his grasp and over the line. That is dreadful goalkeeping.
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GOAL! Galatasaray 2-3 Manchester United (Ziyech 62)
62 min: Not for the first time in this match, Fernandes fouls Ziyech in a dangerous position. And not for the first time in this match, Ziyech makes Onana look a fool by scoring past him from the ensuing free-kick.
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59 min: Luke Shaw is booked for a tactical foul on Ziyech moments after Manchester United had brought on Kobbie Ainoo and Anthony Martial for Sofyan Amrabat and Rasmus Hojlund.
58 min: If I made that sound like a tap-in, I have done McTominay a grave disservice. His finish was from about eight or nine yards out and he steered the ball home from quite a tight angle.
GOAL! Galatasaray 1-3 Manchester United (McTominay 55)
United score their third! McTominay scores his first ever Champions League goal, letting the ball roll across him from an Aaron Wan-Bissakas pass inside before sliding it home at the near post.
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54 min: Galatasaray centrel defender Kaan Aylian is booked for dissent. At least I think it was him, the ref waved his card in the general direction of both the home side’s centre-halves.
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52 min: Caught slightly out of position, Muslera does well to prevent a Fernandes cross from dipping under the cross-bar while simultaneously palming it away from Rasmus Hojlund.
51 min: Wan-Bissaka and Antony link up well down the right flank but the Brazilian surrenders possession with a wayward pass. Torreira advances upfield for the hosts.
50 min: From the left flank, Garnacho overhits a cross into the Galatasaray penalty area with two of his own men waiting for a more precise delivery.
48 min: Galatasaray’s other centre-half, Kaan Aylian, gets on the end of a terrific Ziyech cross from the right, getting in front of Hojlund only to volley high and wide at the near post when equalising for Galatasaray looked easier.
47 min: Galatasaray centre-half Abdulkerin Bardacki lofts a sweet pass forward to Angelino, who sends a sidefoot volley into the Manchester United penalty area with his first touch. His cross is cleared.
Second half: Galatasaray 1-2 Manchester United
46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side.
Half-time: Galatasaray 1-2 Manchester United
It’s time to put the kettle on. A tremendously entertaining first half draws to a close with United leading by the odd goal in three. Alejandro Garnacho put them ahead with a blistering shot into the roof of the net after good work from Bruno Fernades, and it was the United skipper who doubled his side’s lead with a screamer from distance seven minutes later.
Galatasaray pulled a goal back through a Hakim Ziyech free-kick that Andre Onana probably should have saved and the Turkish champions came this close to equalising through Mauro Icardi, only for the Argentinian striker’s fine finish to be ruled out for a very, very tight offside.
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45+2 min: Amrabat is penalised for and booked for a foul on Torreira and Galatasaray win a free-kick wide on the right. The ball’s sent into the United penalty area, where Harry Maguire thumps the ball clear with his big head. It’s half-time.
Offside! Clean through on goal, Mauro Icaradi sells Onana a dummy and then spanks the ball past him after latching on to a long Boey diagonal over the top. It’s a fine finish but his effort is ruled out for offside. That was extremely tight.
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41 min: Sacha Boey is booked for a foul on Garnacho. Somewhat unconvincingly, he protests his innocence in the face of incontrovertible evidence of his guilt.
39 min: Galatasaray goalkeeper and captain Fernando Muslera sprints out of his area to hack the ball clear before Rasmus Hojlund can pounce.
39 min: Nothing comes of this one, with Scott McTominay heading harmlessly over from Fernandes’ latest delivery.
37 min: United corner. Bruno Fernades sends the ball into the mixer but Galatasaray scramble it clear. It reaches Andre Onana, who controls it under pressure on the halfway line and sends it back upfield. Another corner for United.
35 min: Zaha gets a sight of goal and shoots from 15 yards but his effort is blocked by Harry Maguire, who immediately scolds Arron Wan-Bissaka for giving the ball away in the build-up.
34 min: The collective Galatasaray tail is up and their fans are back in full voice as their team go in search of an equaliser. The pitch is holding up fine, despite pre-match conerns.
31 min: As Ziyech stepped up to take that free-kick, Andre Onana took a step to his left, basically wrong-footing himself in the process. Had he not moved prematurely, one suspects Ziyech’s shot would have been straight at him.
GOAL! Galatasaray 1-2 Manchester United (Ziyech 29)
Galatasaray pull one back! Hakim Ziyech scores from the free-kick, shooting through a gap in the Manchester United wall where two of his teammates had been standing, only to peel away at the last second. Andre Onana should have done better!
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27 min: Bruno Fernandes is booked after sprinting all the way from the Glaatasaray box to the the edge of his own to foul Lucas Torreira. He gets booked for his sterling effort.
25 min: Shaw advances through the centre and plays the ball out to Hojlund on his left. Shaw continues his run but is unable to control the return pass when a decent first touch would almost certainly have led to him scoring United’s third goal.
23 min: Sacha Boey, who looks a bit of a live wire, gets in behind the United defence and sends a cross into the edge of the six-yard box. It cannons off Sofyan Amrabat and into the arms of Andre Onana.
22 min: Bruno Fernandes appeared to hit his shot with so much power that he burst the ball and a replacement is called for.
20 min: Dries Mertens curls a cross towards the far post, trying to pick out Wilf zaha. Andre Onana punches clear and Antony canters upfield, beating two defenders before being brought down to win his side a free-kick.
GOAL! Galatasaray 0-2 Manchester United (Fernandes 18)
United double their lead! Bruno Fernades drives into space after picking up a pass from Luke Shaw, advances on goal and rifles the ball into the top corner from distance. That is a sensational strike and for the first time in this match, the home crowd has been stunned into total silence.
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14 min: From a Galatasaray corner, Onana saves a Torreira header from point-blank range at the near post, before Harry Maguire blocks the follow up shot on the line. The ball is fired goalwards again and it hits Scott McTominay’s arm. Galatasaray’s players appeal for a penalty but none is forthcoming. McTominay’s arm was by his side.
13 min: In a pocket of space outside the Galatasaray penalty area, Bruno Fernades played a give-and-go with McTominay before playing the ball out left to Garnacho. The youngster made no mistake.
Galatasaray 0-1 Manchester United (Garnacho 11)
United lead! Alejandro Garnacho roofs the ball with a near post screamer to become the first Manchester United player in history to score at Galatasaray.
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10 min: Galatasaray cenre-back Kaan Aylian hoofs the ball long for Wilf Zaha to run on to but Onana is quick off his line to claim the ball.
8 min: Luke Shaw tries to pick out Garnacho with a pass out to the left touchline. The youngster turns Sacha Boey but is unable to prevent the ball from rolling out of play.
7 min: The pitch doesn’t seem to have retained much water despite the day’s torrential rain and the players don’t seem to be having too much difficulty pinging the ball about hither and yon. Let’s see how it holds up.
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6 min: Andre Onana boots the ball straight out of play for a Galatasaray throw-in near the halfway line.
5 min: Alejandro Garnacho sprints up the inside left with the ball at his feet and squares it for Rasmus Hojlund. Under pressure from a defender, he’s unable to get clean contact on the ball at the near post. Wide.
4 min: Wilf Zaha passes the ball inside to Dries Mertens, who tries his luck from distance. His dipping shot is comfortably saved by Andre Onana.
3 min: The corner is whipped towards the near post, where former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira heads over the bar.
2 min: Up against his old pal and former Crystal Palace teammate Wilf Zaha tonight, Aaron Wan-Bissaka takes a throw-in for United. Galatasaray win possession, advance upfield and Hakim Ziyech wins the first corner of the game for the Turkish champions.
Galatasaray v Manchester United is go ...
1 min: Manchester United get the ball rolling to a deafening soundtrack from the stands.
Not long now: The rain continues to sheet down as the players of both sides march out on to the sodden pitch led by referee Jose Sanchez Martinez and his team of match officials. They line up for the Champions League anthem and the last of the pre-match formalities with kick off just a couple of minutes away. There’s a masssive “Welcome To Hell” tifo at one end of the ground, lest United’s players and fans forget where tonight’s match is taking place.
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Weather update: It’s still chucking it down in Istanbul but the stands are packed and the game will definitely start. This could be one for the ages; an absolute classic, although the pitch didn’t seem to be throwing up too much excess water while the players were completing their warm-ups.
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“Welcome from Hell!” writes our man in Istanbul. “The atmosphere is starting to pick up in the Rams Park now the players are out on the pitch. Getting to the stadium was a nightmare, it’s been raining all day and there was a risk at one stage that the match would be off. But here we are and readying ourselves for what should be a night of noise and possible drama. There are rarely guarantees in football but there is one tonight: it is going to be deafening.”
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Tonight’s match officials
Referee: Jose Sanchez Marintez
Assistant referees: Inigo Lopez and Raul Martinez
Fourth official: Guillermo Fernandez
VAR: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea
Assistant VAR: Juan Martínez Munuera
Transfer news: Manchester United are aiming to strengthen in four positions in January, with concerns over Sofyan Amrabat’s indifferent start prompting the club to consider a move for a defensive midfielder. Jacob Steinberg reports …
Galatasaray v Manchester United: It is 30 years since Manchester United’s most famous trip to Istanbul with Champions League elimination on the line. Galatasaray created an unwelcome hell that Cerberus would have been proud of and a night of sin ended with Alex Ferguson’s side being dumped out of Europe. Words: Will Unwin.
Manchester United: Erik ten Hag makes four changes to the side that beat Everton on Sunday, with Rasmus Hojlund returning to lead the line. Yet to convince as a United player, Antony is also back from injury and takes the place of the suspended Marcus Rashford. Sofyan Amrabat, another underwhelming signing, comes in to the base of United’s midfield, with Kobbie Mainoo dropping to the bench. At the back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is preferred to Diogo Dalot.
Galatasaray v Manchester United line-ups
Galatasaray: Muslera, Boey, Bardakci, Ayhan, Angelino, Torreira, Ndombele, Ziyech, Mertens, Zaha, Icardi.
Subs: Akturkoglu, Demirbay, Guvenc, Tete, Nelsson, Sergio Oliveira, Baris Yilmaz, Karatas, Bakambu.
Manchester United: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, McTominay, Amrabat, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho, Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Martial, Reguilon, Varane, Dalot, Heaton, Pellistri, Mainoo, Gore, Mejbri, Hugill.
In the event of a postponement ...
So, what happens if tonight’s match is postponed? Or starts but has to be abandoned because Scott McTominay has just skittered 30 yards across the pitch on his backside and ended up gatecrashing the opposition dug-out while trying to tackle Wilf Zaha? Let’s go to Uefa’s Rules and Regulations to find out!
“If a match cannot start or cannot be played in full,” says Article 27, a personal favourite of mine. “The full or remaining match time is, as a rule, played the next day, without prejudice to any possible disciplinary measures. For that purpose, home clubs must conclude all the necessary agreements to ensure required facilities are available and can be operated.”
Should the sides be forced to meet tomorrow, Manchester United’s appointment with Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday night would almost certainly have to be rescheduled.
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It’s really not looking good pitch wise…
— Stretford Paddock (@StretfordPaddck) November 29, 2023
pic.twitter.com/UXfA3LaPHv
Early team news ...
One of several Premier League sides currently suffering an injury crisis, Manchester United go into this game with Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Amad Diallo, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia all unavailable for one reason or another, while Marcus Rashford is suspendced.
Following his excellent performance against Everton on Sunday, 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo could make his Champions League debut in only his second appearance of the season, while Antony and Rasmus Hojlund are expected to be available for selection despite missing out on Sunday.
Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk lost Davinson Sanchez to a hamstring injury during his side’s 4-0 win over Alanyaspor on Saturday, while the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s fellow central defender, Abdulkerim Bardakci, is also facing a race against the clock to be fit. Wilfried Zaha, who left Crystal Palace for the Turkish champions during the summer, is expected to line up on the left wing, while Tanguy Ndombele, Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi are other familiar names likely to feature for the home side.
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Is tonight's match in danger of being postponed?
It’s been lashing rain in Istanbul all day, the deluge accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds. Match officials at Rams Park carried out a pitch inspection earlier this afternoon and despite reports that the prospect of the game going ahead looked bleak, Uefa insist the game between Galatasaray and Manchester United will take place tonight.
Or will it? More recently, Sky Sports News have reported that there has been no let-up in the weather and said the ball used in the pitch inspection was not bouncing or rolling properly on a pitch that is clearly water-logged. They have also warned fans travelling to the game that some of the roads leading to the stadium are flooded and impassable. While there is no doubt Galatasaray will send an army of ground staff out to prod the pitch with forks, there is only so much they can do and Uefa’s copper bottomed confidence that the match will definitely take place seems more than a little misplaced.
While I’d like to think I speak for most football fans when I say that few sights are more entertaining than the spectacle of unwittingly out-of-control players aquaplaning 40 yards down the touchline andd crashing feet first into an advertising hoarding as they chase an uncooperative ball around a completely waterlogged pitch, staging a game in such atrocious conditions is probably a mite too dangerous. While the heart says the game should definitely be played, the head hopes common sense will prevail.
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Group A: Galatasaray v Manchester United
Rams Park in Istanbul is the venue for tonight’s match between the Turkish champions and the most out-of-sorts but somehow in-form team in the Premier League. At the foot of the group table with just three points to their name after four games, Manchester United need to win to have any realistic hopes of advancing to the knockout stages, although a draw could conceivably be enough to help them claw their way into the last 16.
Lose and they are definitely out of the Champions League and could even miss out on the consolation prize of place in the Europa League depending on the outcome of tonight’s other Group A match between Bayern Munich and Copenhagen.
Currently sitting third in the group, one point ahead of United, Galatasaray’s future in this season’s Champions League will remain up in the air going into the final round of group games whatever the outcome tonight. Kick-off in Istanbul is at 5.45pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
