Man Utd 2-3 Galatasaray: Erik ten Hag’s squad suffers a shock Champions League defeat as Casemiro is sent off
Manchester United’s Rasmus Hojlund scores twice, but Galatasaray win the Champions League game thanks to Casemiro’s red card and Mauro Icardi’s late goal; Erik ten Hag’s club is still without a point after two games.
Onana will face questions throughout, but much of the defence was to blame for the surrender. After losing to Bayern Munich in their first Champions League game, there is still much work to be done to go past the group round.
Ten Hag’s issues are more pressing now that United has lost six of its ten games this season.
With Hojlund at the helm, Galatasaray’s first win on English soil in 11 attempts looked implausible early on. His effort set up Bruno Fernandes for an opportunity inside two minutes, and the Dane was rewarded for his optimism with the game’s first goal shortly after.
Marcus Rashford got space out wide, and his cross was met by Hojlund’s head from close range. The 20-year-old striker has yet to score in the Premier League, but he has three in his two Champions League games after scoring twice here.
A long ball was allowed to bounce, and Zaha fought off Diogo Dalot’s tackle before squeezing his shot past Onana. Both the defender and the custodian may believe they could have done more to avert the incident. As a result, United lost fluidity and impetus.
There were still chances. Mason Mount had two efforts deflected wide, one off teammate Hannibal Mejbri. But that was nothing compared to the opportunity Rashford passed up early in the second half when he failed to find Bruno Fernandes.
Ten Hag was visibly upset on the bench, with Fernandes enraged by his teammate’s decision to hold up the centre after being let through by half-time substitute Christian Eriksen. On the hour, the breakthrough looked to arrive, but Hojlund was called offside.
However, there was no denying the youthful forward. Davinson Sanchez’s error was brutally punished as Hojlund sprinted from the halfway line, fending off his man and then showing incredible poise to finesse the ball into the net with the home fans roaring.
Galatasaray should have been broken, but a quick counter-attack changed the atmosphere, Amrabat and Victor Lindelof thoroughly beaten in the build-up before Kerem Akturkoglu’s clean finish, but worse was to follow. United’s demise was precipitated by a sloppy pass from Onana.
Casemiro sought to correct the error, but his aggressive tackle on Baris Yilmaz earned him a penalty and a red card. Icardi looked to absolve United by shooting wide from the spot, but it was yet another defensive blunder that cost them.
With Amrabat putting him onside from left-back and Raphael Varane unable to be seen, Sanchez’s header forwards found Icardi clear in the middle. Icardi finished with aplomb this time, causing wild scenes in the away end – and agony among United supporters.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag: “Last season: brilliant, terrific, more than we could expect.
“We also knew in this project there would be common gaps. At this moment we are in a very difficult period as everyone can see but we come out together, we are fighting together, we are sticking together and we are behind each other. That is me, the directors, the team, all together we will fight.
“This is not us, we know we have to do better, with togetherness we will come out.
“If I give an explanation, then you will see it as excuses, there are no excuses. We can’t make the errors we are now making. We have to do better, it is a simple fact, we have to win our games.”
On Onana’s error: “We are happy with our goalkeeping group, definitely with Andre. He was in one semi-final of the Champions League, last year he was in the final of the Champions League, he has the capablilties to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.
“He has shown that and he will do. We already have seen in games his great capabilites, also his personality after he made mistakes. He will bounce back and I am sure he will in the coming games as well.”
