Manchester United missed out on a 3-3 win over Galatasaray in the Champions League group stage

At the group stage of the Champions League football, two more participants in the play-offs were determined – Arsenal and PSV. The English club came out of the group particularly well, defeating Lens 6:0. But Manchester United was content with only a draw in the match with Galatasaray – 3:3. Now it will be very difficult for him to advance to the next stage of the tournament.

On the second game day of the fifth round of the Champions League group stage, the ten teams that had already made it to the play-offs were joined by two more, including Arsenal. However, no less interested was the fate of another English giant – Manchester United, which found itself in a difficult situation and found itself on the verge of dropping out of the fight for a place in the 1/8 finals.

It so happened that one of the richest clubs in the world in a rather convenient Group A, where it seemed to be comfortably in at least second place, found itself after four rounds in last place with only three points. True, Copenhagen and Galatasaray, which imposed competition on it, were also not far away with four points, however, the window of opportunity for Manchester has narrowed to the size of a window. And to get into it, a victory over Galatasaray in Istanbul was no longer enough, which in itself looked difficult.

But United needed a nosebleed to win here and now in order to rely solely on themselves in the final round.

The Manchester team took a 1-0 lead in the 11th minute when Bruno Fernandes played with Rasmus Høilunn in the penalty area and rolled the ball in for Alejandro Garnacho’s final shot. The Argentine also managed to take better aim before hitting the crossbar. Galatasaray was not discouraged by such an unsuccessful debut, and soon the hosts caused panic near Andre Onana’s goal, earning them a corner. United’s Cameroonian goalkeeper, with the help of defenders, barely repelled this onslaught. And then the extravagant Onana did something weird himself, trying to start an attack for his team, and he had to take the ball at the feet of the Istanbul striker Mauro Icardi.

But just as Galatasaray believed that they could come back, Fernandes charged from outside the penalty area on horseback and caught goalkeeper Fernando Muslera by surprise. 2:0 already by the 18th minute – Manchester probably never dreamed of such a development of events in hot Istanbul. However, Erik ten Hag’s team is not looking for easy ways. And with a goalkeeper like Onana, you never get bored. As a result, Hakim Ziyech’s not the most dangerous set-piece shot almost in the center of the goal ended in a goal, and the hosts again believed in themselves, reducing the difference.

Moreover, even before the break, Icardi equalized the score, and the guests were frankly lucky that part of the Argentinean’s shoulder fell into an absolutely elusive offside position without computer graphics.

And in another episode, central defender Harry Maguire helped them out by blocking Wilfried Zaha, who had rushed into a scoring position.

So after the first half, Manchester’s advantage was very shaky, and in the game there was none at all. In the second half, Fernandes tried to score against Muslera from somewhere on the edge of the field, but the Uruguayan goalkeeper made no mistake. But when Scott McTominay blocked Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross in a swift counter-attack, Muslera could only pull the ball out of the net, where the Scottish midfielder had driven it. However, Ziyech, taking a cross from a free kick, again made Onana make a mistake, who somehow clumsily put his hand up and actually scored himself. Moreover, Galatasaray restored equality when Ziyech passed the ball to Kerem Aktürkoglu, and he fired so hard from outside the penalty area that even the jumping Onana did not reach the ball.

In the end, both teams wanted to snatch victory. Manchester was closer to her. Fernandes hit the post from outside the penalty area, and Facundo Peglistri hit Muslera from a killer distance, and that’s not counting other scoring chances. But the match ended 3:3.

Meanwhile, Bayern could not deal with Copenhagen at home – 0:0.

Now in the sixth round, United, with four points, must not only defeat the Munich team, but also hope that Copenhagen and Galatasaray, who have five points each, will draw.

Arsenal had everything under complete control in Group B and all that remained was to secure a ticket to the play-offs from first place. Yes, Lens beat the Londoners at home, but at home they seemed to be clear favorites, which, in fact, was confirmed on the field. Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli literally tore the French team apart, scoring four goals by the 27th minute. And before the break, Martin Odegaard scored the fifth goal on the hapless visiting goalkeeper Brice Samba. The second half of such a game could no longer be played. As a result, Jorginho also converted the penalty, and Arsenal beat Lens 6:0, gaining 12 points.

PSV thus also made it to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League ahead of schedule, although it had difficulties in the match with Sevilla away.

The club from Eindhoven was losing 0:2 and showed an enviable will to win, while its task was certainly made easier by the removal of Lucas Ocampos from the hosts. In the 68th minute, Ismael Saibari scored a beautiful goal, after which Seville defender Nemanja Gudelj hit his own goal, and in stoppage time Ricardo Pepi finished off the opponent – 3:2. With eight points, PSV guaranteed itself second place, since in any case it would be ahead of Lens, which has five points, in terms of additional indicators in head-to-head matches.

The match between Real Madrid and Napoli, in other circumstances, would certainly have caused a stir in Europe, but there was practically no intrigue in Group C. The Madrid team reached the playoffs in the last round, and the Neapolitans are already there. Now at the Santiago Bernabeu they could afford to just play football. The visitors quickly opened the scoring through the efforts of Giovanni Simeone, but Rodrigo and Jude Bellingham put Real ahead midway through the first half. In the second, Andre Zambo-Anguissa leveled the situation – 2:2, but then Nico Paz and Joselu scored for the hosts. Carlo Ancelotti’s team won their fifth victory in a row – 4:2. And Napoli, which still has seven points, in the last round only needs to avoid losing at home to Braga, which has four points.

Alexander Ilyin