Manchester United risks being left without the playoffs

The matches of the fourth round of the group stage of the Champions League were added to the list of clubs guaranteed a place in the play-offs, which consisted of Manchester City and Leipzig, four more – Bayern, Real Madrid, Real Sociedad and Inter “, and Manchester United, which lost to Copenhagen – 3:4, was put in an extremely difficult situation.

Group A

Bayern won their fourth consecutive victory in the tournament at the start of the second round, beating Galatasaray at home 2:1 thanks to a brace from Harry Kane, who fit well into the Munich squad, qualified for the play-offs ahead of schedule and will now watch the promising drama and tears denouement in the fight for the second ticket from her group. The second match of the day provided this outcome.

In it, Manchester United added to the already quite impressive list of failures they suffered this season, including some that arose literally out of nowhere. Meeting away with Copenhagen, the Manchester team led 2:0 midway through the first half, with Rasmus Hoilunn scoring twice. It seemed like the job was done.

But at the end of the half, Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford stepped on Elias Jelert’s foot, and referee Donatas Rumsas, using the help of VAR, decided to give the Englishman a straight red card for this foul. Left in the minority, Manchester conceded twice before the break.

In the second half, Bruno Fernandes, having converted a penalty, however, again brought them ahead. But Manchester United did not reach at least a relatively successful outcome. At the end of the furious match, Copenhagen again scored a double, and 17-year-old Rooney Bardaggi brought him the win.

The English grandee, who had already lost a bunch of points in the first round, after this misfire found himself in last position in the quartet. True, Copenhagen and Galatasaray seem to be side by side – one point ahead. But all the same, if you call Manchester United’s situation critical, this will not actually be distorting the facts.

Well, for example, it is a fact that if in the next match the Manchester team lose away to Galatasaray, to whom they previously lost at home, then everything will be lost for them. And the fact is that it is possible that even two wins in a row – against the Turkish club and Bayern – will not be enough for them to get into the top two. This will happen if Copenhagen also deals with the same opponents.

Group B

Arsenal came close to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League, convincingly defeating Sevilla 2:0 at home. And in the second match of the day, Lens, who had not lost in the first round, conceded an early away goal from PSV forward Luc de Jong, and then ruined an excellent chance to restore the balance.

The situation in the group is quite difficult. Arsenal, of course, is unlikely to miss the play-offs, given that its lead over its pursuers PSV and Lens (both of which it has yet to play) is four points. But then everything is not so obvious. The Dutch club, with equal points, found itself higher in the French table thanks to a good balance in head-to-head matches (the previous one was a draw). Three points behind them are Sevilla, an outsider who has not yet lost hope of a breakthrough. However, for it to take place, Sevilla will most likely need to defeat its competitors in the final rounds: PSV in Spain, Lens in France.

Group C

Real continued their victorious march through the group round, winning 3:0 in Madrid against Braga in a not-so-cloudless match (for example, the Spanish giant had to play backup Andrei Lunin in goal after an injury received in the warm-up by Kepa Arrizabalaga, and Lunin was immediately forced to save a penalty earned by the Portuguese team) and can prepare for the play-offs of the Champions League. “Union” has already been detached from it, having won away in a 1:1 tie with “Napoli”.

However, the first point scored by the Berliners added a couple of twigs to the almost extinct fire of intrigue associated with the battle for the right to play in the cup stage of the main European Cup. Because of this draw, Braga still has a chance to overtake Napoli. Although these chances are tiny. The Italian club is four points ahead of the Portuguese. And even if he suffers a defeat in the next round away from Real Madrid, a home game with a direct competitor will remain in reserve. In any case, a draw will be enough for Napoli.

Group D

Real Sociedad and Inter paved their way to the playoffs, beating Benfica and Salzburg 3:1 and 1:0, respectively. Those destined to determine the winner of a ticket to the cup part of the Europa League (the Austrian team has three points more than the Portuguese).

The story with Real Sociedad may be the most unexpected of all that happened in the group round. For this club, the mere performance in it after a ten-year break seemed like a success, but he showed himself to be a magnificent fighter, as if he had never left the Champions League for a long time and was accustomed to its intensity. True, the contribution of Russian midfielder Arsen Zakharyan to his rise was minimal. Zakharyan has so far played only in two matches with Benfica, and then came on as a substitute closer to their end.

Alexey Dospehov