2023-11-07 18:25:43
Arsenal to put a foot forward towards the eighth final and United to avoid an embarrassing early exit
Spain’s Real Madrid, the 14-time champion, and six-time German champion Bayern Munich are looking to secure a ticket to the round of 16 of the Champions League, while England’s Manchester United hopes to avoid an embarrassing early exit, and its compatriot Arsenal looks forward to renewing hope of crossing over. Final.
In the first group, Bayern Munich has its sights set on achieving a fourth victory that will secure qualification for the final 16 early, when it hosts Galatasaray of Turkey (Wednesday) following defeating them 3-1 two weeks ago, in a match in which the Istanbul team, led by veteran Argentine striker Mauro Icardi, demonstrated a great challenge. It does not reflect the result.
Despite their disappointing exit once morest humble Paderborn in the second round of the German Cup, the Bavarian team continues its strong performances, crushing its rival Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in its home, following eliminating Darmstadt 8-0 in the Bundesliga, in light of the brilliance of its new English striker, Harry Kane, at the top. Ranking of scorers.
Kane is Bayern’s goal machine and his winning card once morest Galatasaray (dpa)
Bayern leads by 5 points over the Turkish team, whose defender Can Ayhan believes that his team is capable of competing with its German host, saying: “We put Bayern under a lot of pressure in the first leg, not only in the first half but throughout the match and we created scoring chances.”
Within the same group, Manchester United desperately needs to win once morest Copenhagen of Denmark in the Champions League competition on Wednesday, as the “Red Devils” and their Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag struggle to avoid an embarrassing early exit from the group stage.
The three-time European champion defeated the Danish team 1-0 at Old Trafford last month thanks to his Cameroonian goalkeeper Andre Onana saving a penalty kick in the last moments.
United’s last victory over Copenhagen was the first following two disappointing losses to the team of Dutch coach Erik Ten Hag, and the meeting of the two teams in the Danish capital will be a date for the return of the son of its academy, Rasmus Hoylund, as a competitor within the ranks of the “Red Devils” who are suffering in the league (eighth place).
The two heavy defeats once morest Manchester City and Newcastle increased the pressure on Ten Hag, and it was reduced only slightly by the meager victory over Fulham 1-0 on Saturday with a timely goal from the Portuguese Bruno Fernandes.
Ten Hag must find quick solutions to the collapsed spirit within the team, and address successive rumors of disagreements within the players’ room. Ten Hag had removed striker Marcus Rashford from the squad that beat Fulham on Saturday, in a move that analysts found to be a kind of punishment for the player who held a birthday party in a hotel hours following the team lost to neighboring City by three. But the Dutch coach confirmed that the exclusion was due to an injury the striker suffered during training, noting that Rashford apologized to him for holding the party that had been arranged for him weeks before the match. Ten Hag believed that Rashford was free to do what he did with his private life, but the celebration following the loss was unacceptable, but the Dutch coach stressed that the 26-year-old player was “very enthusiastic regarding putting things right.” Rashford wrote on the “X” website (formerly Twitter): “Please stop spreading malicious rumors regarding disagreements at the club.”
Rashford stands in the middle of United players during training before the crucial confrontation with Copenhagen (dpa)
The “United Stand” account asked a question: “Rashford’s future is in doubt? We are live! Rashford scored 30 goals in all competitions last season, but he scored only once in this very difficult season for United so far. Manchester United occupies third place in Group A of the Champions League, six points behind leaders Bayern Munich, and one point behind Galatasaray. If the English club fails to win in Copenhagen, Galatasaray may be in a position to eliminate United when the two teams meet in Istanbul on November 29.
In the second group, following its controversial loss in the English Premier League to Newcastle, Arsenal, which is competing in the continental competition for the first time since 2017, will be close to qualifying if it wins once morest its Spanish guest, Sevilla.
Arsenal leads the standings with six points, one point ahead of the French team Lens, which is ahead of the Dutch team PSV Eindhoven, which is at the bottom of the standings with two points, equally with the Andalusian team. If Arsenal and Lens win, Spanish coach Mikel Arteta’s team will be guaranteed to reach the playoffs.
Arteta enters the Seville match a few days following Arsenal suffered its first loss in the English Premier League, with a controversial goal, which made him come out angry, accusing the refereeing of “shame and disgrace.”
The video referee needed four minutes to review three shots, the first if the ball had crossed the sideline in the build-up of the attack, the second if a mistake had occurred, and the third to ensure that there was no offside situation, before awarding the winning goal for Newcastle, scored by Anthony Gordon.
Arteta said that the state of anger he felt as a result of the referees’ decisions was the result of accumulations. He added during the press conference on the sidelines of the Seville match: “These things do not happen overnight. When I came clean and had proof of the words I used in the media, it was because that’s how I felt. My duty is to stand in front of you and in front of the cameras, and provide a clear and honest assessment of what is happening in the match, and this is what I did.
He added, “Once once more, we have a duty to express what is going on inside us in light of the evidence we have and previous cases. “When the club did it, it did it at very specific moments and for real reasons.”
Arsenal and Hamas players in the final training before facing Seville (Archyde.com)
The 41-year-old coach indicated that Arsenal wants to secure its qualification to the Champions League knockout rounds as soon as possible, and explained: “When you have the opportunity to resolve matters, you must do so.” We have to do a lot of things right. We will face a team with a lot of experience in this tournament.”
In the third group, before hosting the Portuguese Braga, Real Madrid achieved three complete victories, leading by three points over the Italian Napoli, which received Germany’s Union Berlin, bottom of the standings without points.
With three points from three matches, Braga coach Artur Jorge realizes that qualifying is difficult, but he said: “We are still in the struggle, but two difficult trips await us (Real Madrid and Napoli). “We proved our ability to fight.”
To achieve a surprise, Braga must contain Englishman Jude Bellingham, who scored the second goal in the first leg (2-1) and a wonderful brace once morest Barcelona that turned the result of the Spanish League Clasico into a fatal 2-1 victory.
Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, Real Madrid coach, commented on the progress of the 20-year-old player coming from Borussia Dortmund at the beginning of the current season: “We were surprised by his wonderful level. He can score 20 or 25 goals easily. He is a very important player for us. “He is able to make the difference from the smallest opportunities.”
Napoli appears to be in a good position to accompany Bayern to the final 16, when it hosts Union Berlin, which has lost 12 matches in a row in various competitions and is reeling in the relegation zone in the Bundesliga, following finishing fourth last season.
Napoli began to regain some of the level that allowed them to win the Italian League title last season, relying on the likes of Nigerian Victor Osimhen, Georgian Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Matteo Politano. Napoli won the last four matches once morest German teams without conceding a goal.
In Group D, Spanish Real Sociedad hopes to continue its good results when it welcomes Portuguese Benfica following defeating it 1-0 two weeks ago.
The Basque team leads the standings with seven points, equally with Inter, the leader of the Italian League and the runner-up in the competition, who comes ahead of Austria’s Salzburg, who has three points. If Sociedad and Inter win, they will qualify together for the round of 16.
1699382174
#Establishing #independent #football #regulatory #body #protect #English #clubs
