Manchester United suffered two consecutive losses in the group stage.
Manchester United suffered a 2-3 comeback loss to Galatasaray in the second match of Group A of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League (UCL) group stage held at Old Trafford in Manchester, England at 4 am on the 4th (Korean time). As a result, Manchester United suffered two consecutive losses in the group stage, putting a red flag on their ability to advance to the round of 16.
Manchester United continued to struggle after Sir Alex Ferguson. Last season, coach Eric ten Haag, who had proven his leadership skills at Ajax, was brought in. Even before the opening, there were more concerns than expectations, but coach Ten Haag took control of Manchester United with his unique leadership style. He returned to the UCL stage by finishing 3rd in the league and lifted the trophy for the first time in 6 years. The rebuilding was successful to some extent, raising fans’ expectations.
In the new season, we looked even higher. Accordingly, Manchester United made changes through rebuilding. Andre Onana, who led Inter Milan to UCL runner-up finish, was brought in as a replacement for David de Gea, and Mason Mount, Rasmus Høirun, and Sofien Amrabat were recruited to complete the necessary reinforcements.
Manchester United entered the season with great expectations. But reality was cold. In the league opener against Wolverhampton Wanderers, they recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win, adding 3 points, but suffered a 0-2 defeat in the subsequent match against Tottenham Hotspur. Manchester United, who barely recorded a 3-2 win against Nottingham Forest in the third round, failed to continue the trend once again, losing 1-3 against Arsenal in the fourth round. It was encouraging that they did not suffer consecutive losses, but losing points in succession to ranked rivals Tottenham and Arsenal was an area that needed improvement.
To make matters worse, they lost 1-3 in the home game against Brighton and fell into a swamp of consecutive losses. This trend continued in European competitions as well. Manchester United, who went on a trip to Bayern Munich, scored 3 goals with goals from ‘freshmen’ Høirun and Casemiro, but conceded 4 goals and lost 3-4.
Fortunately, they showed their first ‘winning streak’ after consecutive losses. Despite falling short in performance, they achieved a 1-0 win over Burnley and succeeded in revamping their mood by winning 3-0 in the English Football League Cup (EFL Cup) against Crystal Palace. However, in the following league game, they met Palace again and lost 0-1 even though it was a home game, and the momentum was interrupted.
Now we really have to move up. The game against Galatasaray was suitable to change the atmosphere. Despite losing the first game, Manchester United was expected to win the second game. There was a difference in objective power and because Gyeonggi was held at Manchester United’s home.
There were some positive things ahead of the game. This is because the possibility of Anthony’s return, who was excluded from the squad due to ‘private life controversy’, was being considered. Anthony recently officially returned to Manchester United training and prepared to return against Galatasaray. Coach Ten Haag also mentioned the possibility of Anthony playing, saying, “Anthony is under consideration. Yesterday, after his return, he trained with the first team. And we will decide today (whether he will play or not). Anthony has been diligent in the investigation스포츠토토.” I also did it.
The two teams ahead of the match announced their starting lists. Manchester United used the 4-2-3-1 formation with Høirun, Rashford, Bruno, Mebri, Mount, Casemiro, Amrabat, Lindelof, Varane, and Dalot starting, with Onana in goal. Galatasaray also used a 4-2-3-1 formation to counter this. Icardi, Zaha, Arcturcolo, Martins, Ayhan, Torreira, Tasende, Bardac, Sánchez and Buj filled the starting XI, with Muslera donning the goalkeeper’s gloves.
The game was tense. As expected, Manchester United was ahead in detailed indicators and had a certain amount of advantage, but there was no feeling of being in control of the game itself. Galatasaray threatened Manchester United with players with extensive experience in Europe, including Wilfried Zaha, Tete, Lucas Torreira, and Mauro Icardi.
Fortunately, it was Manchester United who scored the first goal. In the 16th minute of the first half, Rashford received a pass and attempted a cross inside the box, and Hoirun, who was rushing, hit it with his head, shaking Galatasaray’s net. But the lead didn’t last long. Former Manchester United player Zaha returned to Old Trafford and scored a goal. In the 22nd minute of the first half, Zaha, who was penetrating to the left of the half-space, received a pass, overcame the competition with Dalot, advanced into the box, fell down, and attempted a shot, shaking Manchester United’s net.
So the first half ended 1-1. According to soccer statistics media ‘WhoScored’, Manchester United recorded 52.7% possession and had 7 more shots than Galatasaray. However, due to a lack of detail in finishing, the opportunity given was not properly utilized.
There were more goals in the second half. In the 22nd minute of the second half, Hoe Irun scored his first multi-goal since joining Manchester United, giving the team the lead once again. But after opportunity comes crisis. Four minutes after scoring, United equalized through Aktyrkolou.
The situation was balanced at 2-2. The mood tilted towards Galatasaray. Immediately after scoring, the attack changed by replacing Zaha with Dries Mertens. Bad news has struck Manchester United. In the middle of the second half, Casemiro made a tackle in the box to make up for Onana’s passing mistake, but the timing was too late and the referee declared a penalty kick. Casemiro, who had already been warned once, even had to leave the stadium due to the accumulated warnings. Fortunately, he did not concede a penalty kick. Icardi’s shot as a kicker missed the goal.
But Icardi immediately made up for his mistake. In the 35th minute of the second half, Galatasaray attacked after blocking Amrabat’s cross, and Icardi calmly finished the match in a 1-on-1 situation with the goalkeeper. No additional goals were scored after that, and the game ended with Galatasaray winning 3-2.
