Old Trafford: English giants Manchester United are out of the UEFA Champions League football group stage. United suffered a one-sided defeat in their Group A clash against German Bundesliga club Bayern Munich at Old Trafford yesterday. With this, Bayern’s unbeaten streak reached 40 in the Champions League group stage matches with 36 wins and four draws.
Group champions Bayern with 16 points from six games beat Galatasaray by one goal yesterday to advance to the next round as runners-up. Copenhagen has eight points in this game. Despite losing by one goal to Copenhagen yesterday, Galatasaray entered the Europa League as third place. Last-placed United have no reason to be complacent. In six games, United has a total of four points with one win, one draw and four losses.
In Group C, La Liga club Real Madrid defeated Union Berlin 3-2 to become group champions with 18 points, while Napoli advanced to the next stage as runners-up with 10 points after defeating Braga 2-0. Union Berlin finished last in the group while Braga secured their place in the Europa League with four points.
Real Sociedad and Inter Milan progressed with 12 points each from Group D, while Benfica qualified for the Europa League by overtaking Salzburg on equal points (four). Benfica was helped by beating Salzburg by four goals against three in the last game yesterday. Yesterday’s Real Sociedad-Inter match ended in a goalless draw.
A limping United
Eric Ten Haag’s team needed a win against strong Bayern Munich yesterday to advance to the next stage. And the results of other teams in the group were also crucial.
After a scoreless first half, Frenchman Kingsley Coman scored Bayern’s winning goal in the 70th minute with an assist from Harry Kane.
Manchester United had a lack of confidence in the group as the teams had to suffer huge defeats in the last game in the Premier League and the Bundesliga. Their performance in the game made it clear that the consecutive defeats at home are bothering the Red Devils. Bayern on the other hand grabbed the game through Harry Kane, Kingsley Coman, Leroy Sane and Jamal Musiala. Although United were able to make promising moves from midfield at times, they lacked finishing.
While Rasmus Hoyland was a complete failure, Alejandro Garnacho, Scott McTom, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony and others could not break the target. United’s woeful performance in the Champions League, limping in the English Premier League, has left manager Erik ten Hag’s future at Old Trafford in even greater shadow.
Unbeaten Royal
Spanish giants Real Madrid advanced to the next round by winning the entire match in Group C. Union Berlin and Real could not hold their own yesterday at home.
Union Berlin took the lead in first-half injury time through Voland’s goal to shock the former champions. In the second half, Spanish player Joselu’s double goal (61, 72) gave Real the lead. Union Berlin equalized in the 85th minute thanks to Chektar Alex Krall’s goal. However, Dani Cabello’s 89th-minute strike, assisted by Jude Bellingham, gave Real the full point.
In the other match of the group, Napoli beat Braga 2-0 at home. African Footballer of the Year winner Victor Osimhan scored in the 33rd minute for Napoli, who took the lead in the ninth minute of the match thanks to an own goal by Braga’s Serdar Sashi.
Benfica took a two-goal lead in the first half against Salzburg in Group D. Angel Di Maria scored in the 32nd minute and Rafa Silva in the 45th minute.
Salzburg pulled a goal back in the 57th minute through Luka Sucic. Benfica scored the last goal of the second half through Arthur.
2023-12-13 20:05:00
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