In their Group A matchup against Galatasaray on Wednesday, Manchester United travels to Rams Park in Istanbul, needing to win to have any hope of advancing to the Champions League knockout stages.
With just three points under their belt, the Red Devils remain at the bottom of the section, while their opponents are only one point and one spot ahead of them going into the penultimate gameweek.
It takes a lot of skill to hold Bayern Munich at bay for 80 minutes at the Allianz Arena, and Galatasaray nearly came away from their matchday four match against the Bundesliga champions with a hard-earned point.
The England captain gave Bayern some much-needed breathing room with his second goal of the game in the 86th minute, but Cedric Bakambu’s strike set up a tight conclusion. Harry Kane’s late header from Joshua Kimmich’s free kick broke the deadlock.
Though Galatasaray narrowly missed the opportunity to secure a top-two spot in Group A, where three teams will compete fiercely for second place while group champions Bayern look on with popcorn in hand. Bakambu’s goal in injury time would ultimately amount to little more than consolation.
Nothing is certain for Okan Buruk’s team this week, as they are tied with Copenhagen on points but have a worse goal differential than their Danish opponents. However, losing combined with
Galatasaray possible starting lineup:
Muslera; Boey, Bardakci, Ayhan, Angelino; Torreira, Demirbay; Ziyech, Mertens, Zaha; Icardi
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Amrabat; Antony, Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund
We state: Manchester United 2-2 Galatasaray
Galatasaray have already given Man United a taste of their offensive strength and should be questioning Ten Hag’s backline more in front of their own supporters because they have a wealth of young and experienced attacking talent at their disposal.
It remains to be seen if Sunday’s victory over Everton will spark change for the Red Devils, but with Rashford’s suspension compounding the visitors’ shortages, we find it difficult to support Man United with any real conviction. Instead, we can envision another high-scoring European match that ends in a draw, keeping Ten Hag’s team in the running for a top-two finish.
