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Rediff.com  » Sports » PIX: Real Madrid rally to victory; Manchester United lose

PIX: Real Madrid rally to victory; Manchester United lose

October 04, 2023 09:00 IST
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Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.

Real Madrid fight back to beat Napoli

IMAGE: The jubilant Real Madrid players celebrate after Napoli's Alex Meret scored an own goal during the Champions League Group C match at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in Naples on Tuesday. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/Reuters

Real Madrid fought back to secure a barnstorming 3-2 win at Napoli in their Champions League Group C clash on Tuesday, with the Italian side's keeper Alex Meret scoring an unfortunate own goal to hand the Spaniards victory late in the second half.

 

Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham were both on target for Real in the first half to cancel out a Leo Ostigard header for Napoli, but a Piotr Zielinski penalty early in the second half drew the Italian side level.

Real scored the winner in the 78th minute as a stunning long-range shot from Federico Valverde cannoned off the crossbar straight onto the back of the flailing Meret's head before deflecting into his own goal.

Real are top of Group C on six points from two games, three ahead Napoli and Braga. Union Berlin are bottom with no points.

While there were frazzled nerves at the end, Real started the game strongly with the Vinicius and Bellingham creating all kinds of trouble for the hosts' defence.

It was Vinicius's second game back from a leg injury that sidelined him for more than a month and he looked explosive, constantly linking up with Bellingham as they rekindled their early-season chemistry.

IMAGE: Napoli's Victor Osimhen reacts after missing a goal-scoring opportunity. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/Reuters

Both had chances to score in the opening minutes but it was Napoli who ended up taking the lead with Ostigard's header in the 19th minute after Real Madrid keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to punch clear a corner lifted into a crowded six-yard box.

The visitors, however, recovered with strikes from Vinicius and Bellingham within seven first-half minutes.

First Bellingham intercepted a hospital pass by Napoli defender Giovanni Di Lorenzo just outside their penalty area and linked up quickly with Vinicius, who slotted a brilliant angled strike into the far corner in the 27th minute.

Bellingham put Real ahead in the 34th minute with a dazzling effort, dribbling past three Napoli defenders, before guiding a tidy finish out of the goalkeeper’s reach and into the bottom left corner.

But Napoli came back into the game early in the second half and levelled in the 54th minute with Zielinski's penalty, awarded for a handball by defender Nacho after a VAR check.

Real's players and coach Carlo Ancelotti were furious with the decision and complained vociferously to referee Clement Turpin, who had first turned down the penalty appeals and waved play on, with the ball seemingly deflecting off Nacho's boot before hitting his left hand as he slid in to tackle.

"I don't think it's a penalty. It's a rebound from his foot, you can't just cut the hand off the player," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus.

IMAGE: Jude Bellingham celebrates scoring Real Madrid's second goal. Photograph: Ciro De Luca/Reuters

oared on by their fans in a sold-out Diego Maradona stadium, the hosts pushed for the win and almost scored with a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strike that went just wide while Arrizabalaga made three fine saves from Victor Osimhen's close-range efforts.

However, veteran midfielder Luka Modric climbed off the bench to liven up Real Madrid late in the game.

He first put it on a plate for Bellingham, who missed a sitter from close range in the 75th minute.

Three minutes later, his corner ended up at the feet of Valverde whose long-range effort found the net off Meret's head.

"Modric has delivered. We needed more control and he came in really well, with his experience and quality, controlling the game for us when we needed," Ancelotti said.

Manchester United's misery continues

IMAGE: Manchester United's captain Bruno Fernandes looks dejected after the losing the match against Galatasaray. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters

Manchester United's miserable season continued with a 3-2 home defeat by Galatasaray as Casemiro was sent off giving away a penalty which Mauro Icardi missed before scoring the winner to leave the hosts bottom of Champions League Group A on Tuesday.

Looking to put a fourth Premier League defeat of the season against Crystal Palace on Saturday to the backs of their minds, United flew out of the traps in the Manchester rain, racing into a 17th-minute lead through Denmark striker Rasmus Hojlund.

Their advantage lasted less than six minutes however as Wilfried Zaha, playing against his former club, scooped home the equaliser after poor defending from the hosts.

After the break, Hojlund brilliantly capitalised on a slip from Galatasaray defender Davinson Sanchez to clip United back in front in the 67th minute, only for Kerem Akturkoglu to level four minutes later and stun Old Trafford into silence.

A mistake from United goalkeeper Andre Onana forced Brazilian midfielder Casemiro to conceded a penalty, which saw him sent off after receiving a second yellow card.

Icardi let United off the hook as he drilled his spot kick wide but the Argentine picked himself up and slotted home a fine winner nine minutes from time to send Galatasaray up to second in the group on four points and leave United pointless.

Bayern Munich are top on six points from two games after a 2-1 win at FC Copenhagen, who are third with one point.

"Our opponents are maybe not very successful on the outside but they are a good team," Galatasaray coach Okan Buruk said.

"We have beaten a huge opponent. It is a massive week for Turkish football and of course for us."

United coach Erik ten Hag added: "The mental errors we make, you cannot allow them at this level. You get punished. This is difficult to control.

"We are all in this together. We were twice up and in control of the game. We expect more together."

IMAGE: Galatasaray's players celebrate after winning the match at Old Trafford. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Reuters

Back in the Champions League after a one-year absence, United were desperate for three points after losing to Bayern in their opening Group A encounter, having suffered their worst start to a domestic league campaign since 1989-90.

In European competition, they were also out to avoid losing a third match in a row, which they had not done since 2012-13.

Hojlund's bullet header, from a pinpoint Marcus Rashford cross, could not have got the hosts off to a better start.

Former Crystal Palace winger Zaha, who only made four appearances for United between 2013-15, got revenge on the club who did not give him a proper chance, capitalising on hesitant defending from Diogo Dalot before finding the net.

After the break, Hojlund continued his European purple patch with a superb solo goal but, as was the case on three occasions during their opening group match in Munich, United conceded too quickly after scoring themselves as Akturkoglu struck.

At 2-2, the home supporters still believed their team could find the winner, but more woeful defending gifted the Turkish side all three points.

Icardi's penalty was poor and gave Old Trafford a lift, but a simple forward header from defender Sanchez, in his own half, evaded everyone in red and the Argentine forward raced clear to score his first Champions League goal since 2019.

The final whistle was greeted by wild scenes of celebration at Galatasaray's first Champions League away win in a decade.

The United supporters left the ground wondering when their suffering will end, having seen their side lose six of their 10 matches in all competitions this season after conceding a total of 18 goals - the most at this stage since 1966-67.

Mueller magic gives Bayern Munich victory

IMAGE: Thomas Mueller celebrates after Mathys Tel scored the winning goal for Bayern Munich against FC Copenhagen. Photograph: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via Reuters

Thomas Mueller came off the bench to set up the winning goal for fellow substitute Mathys Tel as Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Denmark's FC Copenhagen 2-1 in their Champions League Group A clash at the Parken Stadium on Tuesday.

With his side struggling to create against the Danish champions, the 34-year-old Mueller entered the game in the 77th minute and used his vast experience to first outrun the defence and then out-muscle it before teeing up Tel to take all three points.

Bayern did not manage a shot on target until late in the first half as Copenhagen's compact defence neutralised the threat offered by the pace of Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane on the Munich flanks.

That allowed the home side to take a shock lead in the 56th minute when Bayern failed to clear Viktor Claesson's shot, and midfielder Lukas Lerager followed up with a clever bouncing drive to put the Danish champions in the driving seat.

Bayern struck back in the 67th minute as Jamal Musiala jinked left and right on the edge of the area before dispatching a low shot into the corner of the net beyond the dive of Kamil Grabara.

Making his 144th appearance in the Champions League, Mueller wasted no time getting involved as he crossed for Leon Goretzka, but the midfielder's header drifted wide of the target.

Undeterred, Mueller embarked on a lung-busting run to track down Harry Kane's flick-on, and he firmly stood his ground before passing for Tel to fire home the winner two minutes later.

Copenhagen substitute Jordan Larsson almost snatched a point for his side in the fifth minute of stoppage time as his header was steered goalwards by Eric Choupo-Moting, but Sven Ulreich pulled off a tremendous diving save to keep the lead intact.

The victory left Bayern top of the group on six points, two ahead of Galatasaray, who beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford to leave United bottom.

Bayern captain Joshua Kimmich paid tribute to both their squad strength and their goalkeeper as they stretched their unbeaten run away from home in the Champions League group stage to 18 games.

"You can see that we have a lot of quality on the bench which has saved us a few times this season - in the end, you don’t just need 11 players, but a few more to get a win like tonight," he said.

"It was a gigantic save from Ulreich in the last seconds of the match ... he exudes a lot of calm, is good with the ball at his feet, but also makes great saves," Kimmich added.

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