Key events
35 min: Zaha gets a sight of goal and shoots from 15 yards but his effort is blocked by Harry Maguire, who immediately scolds Arron Wan-Bissaka for giving the ball away in the build-up.
34 min: The collective Galatasaray tail is up and their fans are back in full voice as their team go in search of an equaliser. The pitch is holding up fine, despite pre-match conerns.
31 min: As Ziyech stepped up to take that free-kick, Andre Onana took a step to his left, basically wrong-footing himself in the process. Had he not moved prematurely, one suspects Ziyech’s shot would have been straight at him.
GOAL! Galatasaray 1-2 Manchester United (Ziyech 29)
Galatasaray pull one back! Hakim Ziyech scores from the free-kick, shooting through a gap in the Manchester United wall where two of his teammates had been standing, only to peel away at the last second. Andre Onana should have done better!
27 min: Bruno Fernandes is booked after sprinting all the way from the Glaatasaray box to the the edge of his own to foul Lucas Torreira. He gets booked for his sterling effort.
25 min: Shaw advances through the centre and plays the ball out to Hojlund on his left. Shaw continues his run but is unable to control the return pass when a decent first touch would almost certainly have led to him scoring United’s third goal.
23 min: Sacha Boey, who looks a bit of a live wire, gets in behind the United defence and sends a cross into the edge of the six-yard box. It cannons off Sofyan Amrabat and into the arms of Andre Onana.
22 min: Bruno Fernandes appeared to hit his shot with so much power that he burst the ball and a replacement is called for.
20 min: Dries Mertens curls a cross towards the far post, trying to pick out Wilf zaha. Andre Onana punches clear and Antony canters upfield, beating two defenders before being brought down to win his side a free-kick.
GOAL! Galatasaray 0-2 Manchester United (Fernandes 18)
United double their lead! Bruno Fernades drives into space after picking up a pass from Luke Shaw, advances on goal and rifles the ball into the top corner from distance. That is a sensational strike and for the first time in this match, the home crowd has been stunned into total silence.
14 min: From a Galatasaray corner, Onana saves a Torreira header from point-blank range at the near post, before Harry Maguire blocks the follow up shot on the line. The ball is fired goalwards again and it hits Scott McTominay’s arm. Galatasaray’s players appeal for a penalty but none is forthcoming. McTominay’s arm was by his side.
13 min: In a pocket of space outside the Galatasaray penalty area, Bruno Fernades played a give-and-go with McTominay before playing the ball out left to Garnacho. The youngster made no mistake.
Galatasaray 0-1 Manchester United (Garnacho 11)
United lead! Alejandro Garnacho roofs the ball with a near post screamer to become the first Manchester United player in history to score at Galatasaray.
10 min: Galatasaray cenre-back Kaan Aylian hoofs the ball long for Wilf Zaha to run on to but Onana is quick off his line to claim the ball.
8 min: Luke Shaw tries to pick out Garnacho with a pass out to the left touchline. The youngster turns Sacha Boey but is unable to prevent the ball from rolling out of play.
7 min: The pitch doesn’t seem to have retained much water despite the day’s torrential rain and the players don’t seem to be having too much difficulty pinging the ball about hither and yon. Let’s see how it holds up.
6 min: Andre Onana boots the ball straight out of play for a Galatasaray throw-in near the halfway line.
5 min: Alejandro Garnacho sprints up the inside left with the ball at his feet and squares it for Rasmus Hojlund. Under pressure from a defender, he’s unable to get clean contact on the ball at the near post. Wide.
4 min: Wilf Zaha passes the ball inside to Dries Mertens, who tries his luck from distance. His dipping shot is comfortably saved by Andre Onana.
3 min: The corner is whipped towards the near post, where former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira heads over the bar.
2 min: Up against his old pal and former Crystal Palace teammate Wilf Zaha tonight, Aaron Wan-Bissaka takes a throw-in for United. Galatasaray win possession, advance upfield and Hakim Ziyech wins the first corner of the game for the Turkish champions.
Galatasaray v Manchester United is go …
1 min: Manchester United get the ball rolling to a deafening soundtrack from the stands.
Not long now: The rain continues to sheet down as the players of both sides march out on to the sodden pitch led by referee Jose Sanchez Martinez and his team of match officials. They line up for the Champions League anthem and the last of the pre-match formalities with kick off just a couple of minutes away. There’s a masssive “Welcome To Hell” tifo at one end of the ground, lest United’s players and fans forget where tonight’s match is taking place.
Weather update: It’s still chucking it down in Istanbul but the stands are packed and the game will definitely start. This could be one for the ages; an absolute classic, although the pitch didn’t seem to be throwing up too much excess water while the players were completing their warm-ups.
Will Unwin
“Welcome from Hell!” writes our man in Istanbul. “The atmosphere is starting to pick up in the Rams Park now the players are out on the pitch. Getting to the stadium was a nightmare, it’s been raining all day and there was a risk at one stage that the match would be off. But here we are and readying ourselves for what should be a night of noise and possible drama. There are rarely guarantees in football but there is one tonight: it is going to be deafening.”
Tonight’s match officials
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Referee: Jose Sanchez Marintez
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Assistant referees: Inigo Lopez and Raul Martinez
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Fourth official: Guillermo Fernandez
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VAR: Ricardo De Burgos Bengoetxea
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Assistant VAR: Juan Martínez Munuera
Transfer news: Manchester United are aiming to strengthen in four positions in January, with concerns over Sofyan Amrabat’s indifferent start prompting the club to consider a move for a defensive midfielder. Jacob Steinberg reports …
Galatasaray v Manchester United: It is 30 years since Manchester United’s most famous trip to Istanbul with Champions League elimination on the line. Galatasaray created an unwelcome hell that Cerberus would have been proud of and a night of sin ended with Alex Ferguson’s side being dumped out of Europe. Words: Will Unwin.
Manchester United: Erik ten Hag makes four changes to the side that beat Everton on Sunday, with Rasmus Hojlund returning to lead the line. Yet to convince as a United player, Antony is also back from injury and takes the place of the suspended Marcus Rashford. Sofyan Amrabat, another underwhelming signing, comes in to the base of United’s midfield, with Kobbie Mainoo dropping to the bench. At the back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka is preferred to Diogo Dalot.
Galatasaray v Manchester United line-ups
Galatasaray: Muslera, Boey, Bardakci, Ayhan, Angelino, Torreira, Ndombele, Ziyech, Mertens, Zaha, Icardi.
Subs: Akturkoglu, Demirbay, Guvenc, Tete, Nelsson, Sergio Oliveira, Baris Yilmaz, Karatas, Bakambu.
Manchester United: Onana, Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw, McTominay, Amrabat, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, Garnacho, Hojlund.
Subs: Bayindir, Martial, Reguilon, Varane, Dalot, Heaton, Pellistri, Mainoo, Gore, Mejbri, Hugill.
In the event of a postponement …
So, what happens if tonight’s match is postponed? Or starts but has to be abandoned because Scott McTominay has just skittered 30 yards across the pitch on his backside and ended up gatecrashing the opposition dug-out while trying to tackle Wilf Zaha? Let’s go to Uefa’s Rules and Regulations to find out!
“If a match cannot start or cannot be played in full,” says Article 27, a personal favourite of mine. “The full or remaining match time is, as a rule, played the next day, without prejudice to any possible disciplinary measures. For that purpose, home clubs must conclude all the necessary agreements to ensure required facilities are available and can be operated.”
Should the sides be forced to meet tomorrow, Manchester United’s appointment with Newcastle at St James’ Park on Saturday night would almost certainly have to be rescheduled.
Early team news …
One of several Premier League sides currently suffering an injury crisis, Manchester United go into this game with Mason Mount, Jonny Evans, Casemiro, Amad Diallo, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen and Tyrell Malacia all unavailable for one reason or another, while Marcus Rashford is suspendced.
Following his excellent performance against Everton on Sunday, 18-year-old midfielder Kobbie Mainoo could make his Champions League debut in only his second appearance of the season, while Antony and Rasmus Hojlund are expected to be available for selection despite missing out on Sunday.
Galatasaray manager Okan Buruk lost Davinson Sanchez to a hamstring injury during his side’s 4-0 win over Alanyaspor on Saturday, while the former Tottenham Hotspur man’s fellow central defender, Abdulkerim Bardakci, is also facing a race against the clock to be fit. Wilfried Zaha, who left Crystal Palace for the Turkish champions during the summer, is expected to line up on the left wing, while Tanguy Ndombele, Hakim Ziyech, Dries Mertens and Mauro Icardi are other familiar names likely to feature for the home side.
Is tonight’s match in danger of being postponed?
It’s been lashing rain in Istanbul all day, the deluge accompanied by thunder, lightning and strong winds. Match officials at Rams Park carried out a pitch inspection earlier this afternoon and despite reports that the prospect of the game going ahead looked bleak, Uefa insist the game between Galatasaray and Manchester United will take place tonight.
Or will it? More recently, Sky Sports News have reported that there has been no let-up in the weather and said the ball used in the pitch inspection was not bouncing or rolling properly on a pitch that is clearly water-logged. They have also warned fans travelling to the game that some of the roads leading to the stadium are flooded and impassable. While there is no doubt Galatasaray will send an army of ground staff out to prod the pitch with forks, there is only so much they can do and Uefa’s copper bottomed confidence that the match will definitely take place seems more than a little misplaced.
While I’d like to think I speak for most football fans when I say that few sights are more entertaining than the spectacle of unwittingly out-of-control players aquaplaning 40 yards down the touchline andd crashing feet first into an advertising hoarding as they chase an uncooperative ball around a completely waterlogged pitch, staging a game in such atrocious conditions is probably a mite too dangerous. While the heart says the game should definitely be played, the head hopes common sense will prevail.
Group A: Galatasaray v Manchester United
Rams Park in Istanbul is the venue for tonight’s match between the Turkish champions and the most out-of-sorts but somehow in-form team in the Premier League. At the foot of the group table with just three points to their name after four games, Manchester United need to win to have any realistic hopes of advancing to the knockout stages, although a draw could conceivably be enough to help them claw their way into the last 16.
Lose and they are definitely out of the Champions League and could even miss out on the consolation prize of place in the Europa League depending on the outcome of tonight’s other Group A match between Bayern Munich and Copenhagen.
Currently sitting third in the group, one point ahead of United, Galatasaray’s future in this season’s Champions League will remain up in the air going into the final round of group games whatever the outcome tonight. Kick-off in Istanbul is at 5.45pm (GMT) but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
