Galatasaray 3–3 Man Utd
Unsurprising, still disappointing
The main thing was lack of composure. Simple.
We shouldn’t be in this position, let’s be honest. Too many silly mistakes that have been repeated across ALL games.
Poor defending, too much spaces and bloody hell our goalkeeper sucks. I like Onana, I back him and ten Hag, but fuck me this guy has probably cost us Champions League football this season. And this was at a time when he was getting some confidence after having some good games in the league and that match-winning penalty save against Copenhagen.
All of that gone, in an instant.
It’s not all on him though. As I said, the defense and midifeld were far too open allowing Galatasaray to have decent chances but in all honesty, they didn’t actually create anything clear cut. We were just poor in our game management, focus and composure, all summed up by Onana.
We started the game off really well. We kept calm, didn’t let the occasion get at us and scored two great early goals by taking advantage of that space left by the Turks.
Poor play from McTominay down the right to not play in a simple pass to Bruno in the box that probably would’ve led to another goal, before giving it away, Scott doesn’t track back, Bruno gives away a free-kick on the edge of the box despite actually trying to get out of the way, all before a stupid way to concede.
The wall setup had two Gala players in it. Ziyech was only ever going to kick it in one area: where they were standing. There was no reason for Onana to move as he was positioned perfectly for that shot.
1–2.
As the game went on, I still felt confident that we could get the goal/s we needed to win. I also felt confident that we’d mess up because I don’t trust this team.
But in the second half, the game continued much as it did in the first. Loads of space, eventually exploited and we get the third. This is where you’re thinking we seriously have to focus up and we win.
And yet…
Bruno gives away another free-kick (he was on thin ice as he was booked for the first) but the position wasn’t necessarily dangerous. Once more though, Onana had other ideas and made a meal of it. His handling skills…
He must put oil on his gloves or something? The amount of times he doesn’t handle it well or flaps at it or is weak at the wrist is countless.
His positioning for the third goal, Jesus Christ 🤦♂️.
There was still so much space for the player about to receive the ball. Poor tracking of the runner again. Could Mainoo have done better? Perhaps but I still think he showed him wide enough to make it difficult for him but he manages to get the shot on target and where the hell was Onana standing?!
He was so far off his line leaving that space for the forward to put the ball in at the near post. That is a cardinal sin for a goalkeeper.
And yet still, even at 3–3, the home side were still pushing for the win leaving us with SOOOOOOOOOOOO many more chances to score at least 2 or 3 more goals.
That lack of composure in the final third killed us almost as much as Onana did. If we were compact defensively and calm in attack, that was an easy 4/5–0 win for United, no jokes. Any side with a simple defend and counter tactic would’ve beaten Galatasaray like that.
I don’t even know what to say anymore.
But, as I mentioned at the start, this shouldn’t be a surprise because we know this side is capable of cocking up even when it seems pretty damn hard to do so. If shooting yourselves in the foot was a sport, we’d be the fucking champions by a mile.
Despite it being unsurprising, I’m still so devasted. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve felt genuinely angry. How the fuck did we not win that game? How are we last in this group?
With all due respect to Copenhagen and Galatasaray, we really should have been on 12 points, and home and hosed.
We don’t deserve to go through.
Ratings:
Onana — 1
AWB — 6
Maguire — 6
Lindelof — 5
Shaw — 6
Amrabat — 6
McTominay — 4.5
Antony — 6.5
Bruno — 7 MOTM
Garnacho — 6
Hojlund — 5
Mainoo — 6
Martial — 6
Pellistri — 5
Dalot — 6
Erik ten Hag — 5
Final Thoughts
It’s so frustrating because Galatasaray were there for the taking, just like in the first match. SO MUCH SPACE! I can’t believe how much space they left in both matches and we couldn’t make them pay.
14 goals conceded in five Champions League games, bottom of the group on 4 points, need a miracle to qualify and there’s a chance we may not be in Europe at all.
Restart the season.
#GALMUN #CHAMPIONSLEAGUE #ERIKTENHAG #GGMU #MUFC #GLAZERSOUT
