England’s Manchester United will be on a fateful task when they host Denmark’s FC Copenhagen on Tuesday, while Spanish giants Real Madrid and Germany’s Bayern Munich will be looking for a third straight win in the group stage of the European Champions League.
When the draw for the group stage was made on 31 August, Manchester United were considered the most likely candidates to secure one of the two places in the first group along with Bayern Munich in the last 16, but the team had a disastrous start. Dutch coach Erik ten Haag started his campaign with a defeat at the Bavarian club’s ground. Shocked at home, falling 3-4 to Turkey’s Galatasaray.
The Red Devils, who prepare to host their arch-neighbors Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, enter the third round sitting bottom of the group without points, while Bayern lead the best ahead of their trip. Tuesday they face Galatasaray, who are two points behind Turkey.
After falling to Galatasaray, United breathed a sigh of relief with 2 home wins against Brentford and Sheffield United in the Premier League, 2-1, so will be hoping this provides a morale boost to their third-place finish. A clash with a Danish team they met in the group stage of a major continental tournament in 2006. They won it 3–0 before losing the second leg 0–1, then in the Europa League quarter-finals in 2020 they lost 1-1. -0 after extra time of a match at that time due to the aftermath of the coronavirus.
After the painful defeat to Galatasaray, Den Haag appeared calm, saying, “We still have four matches, including two in a row with Copenhagen. Every match will be very difficult, but we know what to do.”
A special conflict for Hoyland
Against a team that has not won in its last eight matches in the group stage, United will hope to get their first win and return to the competition circle, a match of great moral importance that the “Red Devils” will respect. The legend, Bobby Charlton, died on Saturday at the age of 86.
Charlton is regarded as an absolute legend for United, scoring 249 goals in 758 appearances.
The match also holds special significance for United’s new star Rasmus Hoyland, as the 20-year-old will be up against his former club and his 18-year-old twin brothers Emil and Oscar.
Having scored three goals in the first two matches with the “Red Devils” in the Champions League, Rasmus has made a very promising start with the team he moved to this summer from Italian Atalanta.
Oscar is expected to start opposite Rasmus, while coach Jakob Nystrup is unlikely to rely on Emil as he is not a permanent fixture in the first team and plays most of his matches with the under-19s.
In Istanbul, Galatasaray will rely on the encouragement of its fans to miss Bayern’s third consecutive win in this group, but the task will not be easy when facing a team looking for a sixteenth straight win in the group stage. They are unbeaten in their last 36 matches, the most in the history of the competition (33 wins and 4 draws).
The two teams meet on Tuesday after the 1972-1973 season, when they drew 1-1 in the first leg of the first leg before Bayern won the second leg 6-0.
Coach Thomas Tuchel’s side enter the match in high spirits led by English top scorer Harry Kane, who took his tally to 9 goals in 8 games and 10 in 11 games in the “Bundesliga” after Saturday’s 3-1 home win against Mainz. All competitions.
“I still feel there is room for improvement and I’m still getting to know my teammates,” the former Tottenham star said after Saturday’s game.
Real Madrid is hoping for a third win before the “Clásico”.
In Portugal, within Group C, Real Madrid is looking for its third consecutive victory when it visits Sporting Braga, a preparation for what awaits Saturday in Catalonia, where the “Clasico” will be played at the stadium of its rival, Barcelona. Eleventh round of the Spanish League.
After a last-gasp win against its German guests Union Berlin, Real returned from southern Italy with their second win at the expense of Napoli (3-2) with a goal scored by England player Jude Bellingham. It equalizes and achieves its second win while away to the German capital.
Real Madrid head into their first clash with Sporting Braga with somewhat shaky morale following a 1-1 draw in the league with Sevilla, with two first-half goals canceled out for the royal club, much to the chagrin of its Italian. “A sarcastic approach is the only option after this match,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said, “because… “If I say what I think about refereeing, I think I’ll be suspended for several matches, and what I like the most is when Real Madrid’s substitutes sit on the bench. So to avoid suspension, I use a slightly sarcastic style without saying what I really think.”
In the second group, English Arsenal face a tough task at home in Seville on Tuesday after losing 1-2 to French club Lens in the previous round, trailing the Gunners by a point. .
As for Lens, who lead with four points, it will host PSV Eindhoven, who are bottom with one point.
AdvertisingIn fourth, Italian Inter hosts Spanish Real Sociedad (4 points each), Austrian Red Bull Salzburg (3 points) and Basque club Portuguese Benfica at home, hoping to leave empty-handed. In the first two rounds.
Additional resources • AFP
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