Key events
50 mins: Eriksen sweeps the ball to Bruno Fernandes, who cuts inside, ignores the overlap and fires over the bar. He then gesticulates wildly at his teammates – I’m not sure why.
48 mins: The referee, Ivan Kruzliak of Slovakia, appears happy to let some heavy 50-50 challenges go – which is benefiting Galatasaray’s physical approach.
47 mins: Mount is dispossessed by Kaan Ayhan and Kerem Akturkoglu – who we can file under “lively” – sees his shot well-blocked by Lindelof.
46 mins: Rashford’s backheel fools three Gala defenders, finding Amrabat, who is short of support.
Peep!
The second half is under way; Christian Eriksen is on for United, replacing Hannibal.
This new TNT/Eurosport era means that we get to see Alan “Angles” McManus promoting snooker’s English Open in the half-time break. Now, back to another awkward pack of reds …
And here’s David Squires on the state of things:
“Re: 29 mins. Lucas Torreira’s not a spaniel. He’s Uruguayan!” honks Peter Oh.
Read-it-and-weep half-time content:
Half-time in all six 8pm Champions League games, and it’s also 1-1 between Lens and Arsenal, while Real Madrid now lead 2-1 in Naples – Jude Bellingham on target to put the visitors in front. The other games – Inter v Benfica, Copenhagen v Bayern and PSV v Sevilla – are all goalless.
Half time: Manchester United 1-1 Galatasaray
The good for United – Højlund strikes again, and they’ve been the better side going forward. The bad – Zaha’s equaliser, and the fear that more of the same could follow from a shaky defence. More soon.
47 mins: A United free-kick out wide on the left, punted in by Bruno Fernandes, cleared away by Torreira. Mason Mount then clips Sacha Boey after losing the ball, United’s frustration in microcosm.
46 mins: Dalot’s attempted clearance is charged down by Akturkoglu, who slices his shot over the bar before play is stopped for handball.
45 mins: Three minutes of added time.
44 mins: United’s best chance since the opening goal as Rashford creates more trouble down the left, and Mount has space to shoot – but his effort is blocked by his own player, Hannibal, standing three yards out.
42 mins: Dalot scoots upfield and flicks the ball beyond Bardakci, who brings the United full-back down. The referee says no foul, which is a strange decision.
40 mins: Mauro Icardi, very quiet so far, drops back and picks out Akturkoglu, whose cross is turned behind by Lindelof. From the corner, Tete sees a shot blocked before Kaan Ayhan sends an awkward speculator high and wide.
39 mins: Some more nice work from Rashford in the Galatasaray area before his cross is blocked, and Amrabat’s shot on the rebound rolls through to Muslera. United look quite good in the final third – it’s the other two thirds they need to worry about.
37 mins: Dalot’s difficult night against Zaha continues as he clips the winger’s ankles to stop him breaking away. Okan Buruk, the Gala coach, waves an imaginary yellow card* around and gets to see two – one for Dalot, and one for him after his ostentatious protests.
*I’m assuming it was supposed to be yellow
35 mins: Rashford’s attempted pass to Amrabat, who had pushed up into a left-wing position, is intercepted. Mount then concedes a needless foul, adding to the sense of drift in recent minutes.
33 mins: Casemiro, perhaps still irked by that heavy Torreira challenge, goes in the book for a high boot.
31 mins: The free kick is played short, but play is stopped for a foul on Sánchez, much to the chagrin of the home supporters.
29 mins: Lucas Torreira, less a footballer and more a snarling, hyperactive spaniel, goes in the book for a clumsy foul on Casemiro.
28 mins: Højlund does well to hold the ball up and find Rashford, who pokes the ball through to Amrabat. His cut-back finds Mount, the angle against him, and his shot is blocked behind. The corner, played short again, doesn’t come to anything – but United have got back in their attacking groove after that Zaha equaliser.
Another setback for a Premier League side – Lens have levelled against Arsenal. It’s also 1-1 between Napoli and Real Madrid in Italy.
25 mins: Casemiro looks for Fernandes with another long, raking diagonal pass but Angeliño is on hand to tidy up. United get a corner after Rashford’s shot is deflected behind, but concede a foul from it.
A long ball upfield from Sánchez to nobody in particular wasn’t dealt with by either centre-back leaving Dalot in a tussle with Zaha, who managed to get a boot to it, sending a shot into the ground that loops over Onana and into the corner!
He runs to the corner and cups his ears to the Old Trafford crowd. So much for not being bothered. There was a bit of grappling in the buildup to the goal, but not enough to call a foul – Dalot had to be stronger there.
GOAL! Man Utd 1-1 Galatasaray (Zaha 22′)
From pretty much nowhere, Galatasaray are level! It’s Wilfried Zaha, and it’s a bit of a defensive disaster for Manchester United.
20 mins: Oof! Close to a second for Højlund, who continues to impress early in his United career. A simple through-ball from Mount cuts through the defence and Højlund just fails to flick the ball beyond Muslera, who raced out smartly to clear the danger.
There’s a VAR check to see if Rashford was offside, but Davinson Sánchez was playing him on – news that may not come as a surprise to Tottenham fans.
What a cross… and what a finish 💥
Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund combine to give Manchester United the lead at Old Trafford 🤝#UCL pic.twitter.com/SyKLLAp9Lw
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 3, 2023
GOAL! Man Utd 1-0 Galatasaray (Højlund 16′)
Marcus Rashford pops up on the right, picks up Casemiro’s pass and whips in a cross that looks too high – but Rasmus Højlund takes flight to head emphatically beyond Muslera! United lead, and deservedly so.
15 mins: Amrabat wins the ball back to set up a United attack, which ends with a foul on Zaha. Not to worry …
Arsenal lead 1-0 in Lens through Gabriel Jesus. You can follow that one with John Brewin here:
13 mins: After a spell of United probing and passing, Casemiro plays Hannibal in with a lovely lofted ball – but he fails to bring it down, winning only a corner which is punched clear by Muslera.
10 mins: Fernandes’ long diagonal ball towards Rashford, pushing up to support Højlund, is undercooked.
“I would have thought the bigger worry about having Amrabat at left-back is for the player’s own health,” notes David Wall. “The position seems to be cursed. The two left-backs in their squad both get injured, then the guy they bring in as cover the position only lasts a couple of games himself.”
8 mins: The corner is cleared and with both United centre-backs upfield, Galatasaray have a chance to break. Kerem Akturkoglu charges downfield but, with Zaha and Icardi on either side, he overruns the ball.
6 mins: Dalot holds off Zaha in their first tussle down the United right – and then gets forward to win a corner as Angeliño, once of Manchester City, deflects his cross behind.
4 mins: Davinson Sánchez (formerly of Spurs), plays a weak through ball that’s picked up by Lindelöf. Amrabat, filling in at left-back, has made a couple of runs in to central midfield to support Casemiro and Mason Mount.
2 mins: Bruno then finds space on the right side of the area – his first cross is blocked, and then a rabona on the rebound is intercepted by Lucas Torreira.
1 min: Early chance for United! Højlund finds space down the left and produces a fine pull-back into Bruno Fernandes’ path – but he scuffs his shot wide.
Peep!
We’re under way at Old Trafford, United in red shirts and black shorts, Galatasaray in all white.
In Tuesday’s early matches, Braga came from 2-0 down to win 3-2 at Union Berlin with Andre Castro’s late winner shaking things up in Group C. Elsewhere, Real Sociedad won 2-0 at Salzburg to go top of Group D.
Ten Hag on Antony: “Our minds were with him, and the allegations – you think about it, it’s serious. He had a leave of absence, and he was very cooperative with police in Brazil and in Manchester, and he’s not accused, so he is available.” This is similar to what he said yesterday, although he previously said “not charged” which is more accurate.
As for the game, he wants improvement in “both boxes” – he is unhappy Palace were able to win on Saturday despite hardly creating any chances, in his opinion. “You have to win here – [results] are delaying the process, and I’m very impatient. We have to be creative, make compromises, but we have to win games.”
Some pre-match, on-pitch thoughts from Erik ten Hag.
These two sides’ first-ever European meeting came in the 1993-94 Champions League, when United let a two-goal lead slip in a 3-3 first-leg draw in Turkey.
In the second leg, “Welcome to Hell” and all that, Gala went through after a goalless draw in Istanbul. They moved on to the eight-team group stage – where they failed to win any of their six games.
“Not optimistic,” mutters Niall O’Keefe. “Amrabat at left-back again when he is one of the best defensive midfielders in the world. The excellent Garnacho and Pellistri again on the bench. Rashford off form. Oh dear.”
I know they have injuries, particularly in that left-back position, but it does feel like a waste of Amrabat’s abilities to be filling in there. That team looks a bit underwhelming to me – so you can expect United to be three up by half-time.
Wilfried Zaha starts for Galatasaray at his old club tonight – yes, he did play for Manchester United, but you could be forgiven if it slipped your mind. Here’s Michael Butler on why he is the danger man tonight.
Antony is on the bench tonight, after Erik ten Hag confirmed the player was available for selection on Monday. If he is brought on, this will be Antony’s first appearance for Manchester United since allegations of assault first came to light.
The Brazil winger returned to training on Sunday, following a leave of absence granted by the club after the accusations of violence were made by three different women. Antony has denied all allegations against him in an interview with Brazilian TV.
The teams
Man Utd (4-2-3-1): Onana; Dalot, Varane, Lindelöf, Amrabat; Casemiro, Mount; Mejbri, Bruno Fernandes (c), Rashford; Højlund.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Vitek, Maguire, McTominay, Eriksen, Martial, Garnacho, Antony.
Galatasaray (4-2-3-1): Muslera (c); Boey, Sánchez, Bardakci, Angeliño; Torreira, Ayhan; Tetê, Akturkoglu, Zaha; Icardi.
Substitutes: Guvenc, Demirbay, Nelsson, Oliveira, Alper Yilmaz, Ndombélé, Bakambu, Mertens.
Preamble
Amid Manchester United’s many off-field issues, their problems on the pitch have almost gone under the radar. Where results like Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Crystal Palace would once have been the weekend’s big story, events at Molineux and Stockley Park meant that particular shock was not seismic.
Erik ten Hag will be happy to keep a relatively low profile (and this is United, so it is relative) before what could be a crunch game in Europe. After being held at arm’s length by Bayern, a home win over Galatasaray is a must to stop Champions League progress becoming a battle United could really do without.
Galatasaray, who ended a four-year wait for a Turkish title last season, pose a threat to United’s fragile disposition. They rallied to scrape a 2-2 draw at home to Copenhagen in their first game but are flying in the league, bolstered by eye-catching recruits including Mauro Icardi and former United winger Wilfried Zaha.
Injuries and a tricky fixture list are factors in United’s historically bad start to the season – but a kinder run of games is coming, with Brentford (H), Sheffield United (A) and Copenhagen (H) before the Manchester derby at the end of October. A chance to release the pressure this evening, but one they have to take.
