|
Errors by goalkeeper Andre Onana and a fiery strike from Kerem Akturkoglu in the second half left Manchester United's hopes of progress in the UEFA Champions League hanging by a thread as they blew their lead twice to play a 3-3 draw against Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday night.
Alejandro Garnacho (11th minute) and Bruno Fernandes (18th minute) had put Manchester in an advantage within the first 20 minutes. But errors from Onana helped the Turkish club bounce back with a brace by Hakim Ziyech, the first free kick goal came in the 29th minute. At the end of the first half, the scoreline read 2-1 in favour of United. Scott McTominay restored United's two-goal lead once again. But it did not take long for Onana to commit another error as he could not save yet another free kick by Ziyech from going inside the net in the 62nd minute. Akturkoglu finally came through with an equaliser in the 71st minute, forcing both teams to share a point. In another Group A encounter, Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen played out a goalless draw. Munich (13 points in five games) stands as the only team to qualify from the group while Copenhagen (5 points) and Galatsaray (5 points) are still in contention. United will have to beat Munich in their final match and pray that Copenhagen and Galatsaray play out a draw in order to qualify. In a group B match, Arsenal crushed RS Lens by 6-0. It was a total demolition by the Gunners as strikes came from Kai Havertz (13th minute), Gabriel Jesus (21st minute), Bukayo Saka (23rd minute), Gabriel Martinelli (27th minute) and Martin Odegaard (45+1 minute) in the first half itself. In the second half, a sole goal by Jorginho (86th minute) added to Lens' misery and exposed their poor defending, giving the English club three points. Coming to another group B encounter in Seville, Sevilla registered a shocking home loss to PSV Eindhoven by 2-3. Goals from Sergio Ramos (24th minute) and Youssef En-Nesyri (47th minute) had put Sevilla in front. But a strike by Saibari Ben El Basra (68th minute) and an own goal by Nemanja Gudelj (81st minute) helped PSV level the scores. A late stoppage-time winner by Richard Pepi gave PSV their three points. Arsenal (12 points) and PSV Eindhoven (8 points) have qualified into the knockouts from this group, while Sevilla is at the bottom with just two points, without a win. Lens has five points meanwhile. All teams have a match left. Coming to Group C, Real Madrid beat Braga by 4-2. Despite Giovanni Simeone putting Napoli in the lead in the 9th minute to stun Madrid's home crowd, goals from Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham in the 11th and 22nd minute restored the dominance of the Spanish giants. Zambo Anguissa delivered the score-levelling strike in the 47th minute for Napoli, but Nico Paz (84th minute) and Joselu (90th minute+4) scored match-winning goals in the final few minutes of the match to get three points. Another Group C fixture between Braga and FC Union Berlin ended in a 1-1 draw, with Robin Gosens's goal in the 42nd minute giving Berlin an advantage, only for Braga to bounce back and earn a point with a goal by Alvaro Djalo Dias Fernandes in 51st minute) Real Madrid (15 points) and Napoli have qualified for the knockout phase, while Braga is likely to get a UEFA Europa League slot, sitting at four points. In the Group D, Real Sociedad and Red Bull Salzburg played a 0-0 draw while Benfica and Inter Milan also played out a thrilling 3-3 draw in Lisbon. Joao Mario (5th minute, 13th minute and 34th minute) scored a hat-trick to give Benfica a 3-0 lead before half-time but Marko Arnautovic (51st minute), Davide Frattesi (58th minute) and Alexis Sanchez (penalty conversion in 72nd minute) ensured that Milan gets a point at least. Sociedad and Inter Milan (11 points) have qualified for the knockout phases of the league. (ANI)
|
