Manchester United on Tuesday crashed to a second successive UEFA Champions League defeat, losing 3-2 at home to Galatasaray SK, while RC Lens stunned Arsenal and Jude Bellingham once again inspired Real Madrid.
Mauro Icardi made amends for a missed penalty by scoring the winner for Galatasaray as the Turkish club twice came from behind at Old Trafford to pile more misery onto a deeply troubled United side.
United have lost their first two games of a Champions League group for the first time, leaving manager Erik ten Hag’s men in danger of an early exit.
Photo: AFP
“The mental errors we make, you cannot allow them at this level. You get punished. This is difficult to control,” Ten Hag told TNT Sports. “We are all in this together. We were twice up and in control of the game. We expect more together.”
Rasmus Hojlund was one of the rare bright spots for United, scoring two well-taken goals, but Galatasaray responded both times as Wilfried Zaha netted against his old side before Kerem Akturkoglu struck.
Icardi dragged a penalty wide after Casemiro was sent off for a desperate lunge following a dreadful ball out from goalkeeper Andre Onana, but the Argentine had the last laugh when he chipped home on 81 minutes.
United are bottom of Group A, six points adrift of Bayern Munich who came from behind to beat FC Copenhagen 2-1 in Denmark.
Lukas Lerager fired the Danes ahead early in the second half, but Jamal Musiala bagged a superb individual goal to haul Bayern level before teenage substitute Mathys Tel lashed in a fine strike late on.
Arsenal slumped to a first defeat of the season as Lens hit back to win 2-1 in northern France.
Gabriel Jesus gave manager Mikel Arteta’s side an ideal start when he opened the scoring in the 14th minute to silence a raucous Stade Bollaert.
Adrien Thomasson soon brought last season’s Ligue 1 runners-up level and the visitors saw Bukayo Saka limp off before halftime.
Wahi, the 20-year-old striker who became Lens’ club-record signing when he joined at the start of the campaign, then fired home in the 69th minute and his side held on for a famous victory.
“It was a big night for us. We weren’t able to take the result we wanted, but we were able to learn,” Arteta said.
Lens climbed to the top of Group B on four points, one above Arsenal.
PSV Eindhoven snatched a 2-2 draw at home against Sevilla in the other game in the group courtesy of Jordan Teze’s stoppage-time equalizer after a late flurry of goals in the Netherlands.
England star Bellingham continued his sensational start to his Madrid career with a goal and an assist as manager Carlo Ancelotti’s side beat SSC Napoli 3-2 in Group C.
“What’s so amazing about Bellingham is that he’s only 20. He has great quality, a strong personality and character,” Ancelotti told Sky Sport. “He’s a young man of 20 who’s showing everyone what extraordinary talent he has.”
Elsewhere, SC Braga ruined Union Berlin’s home debut in the competition as Andre Castro struck a stoppage-time winner in a 3-2 victory, while Marcus Thuram struck the only goal as Inter won 1-0 at home to SL Benfica in Group D.
Inter are level on four points with Real Sociedad, who beat Red Bull Salzburg 2-0 earlier in the day in Austria.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS