The six of the 16 teams that will continue in the knockout games of the Champions League were announced after the conclusion of the 4th matchday.
European champions Manchester City and Leipzig were the first to qualify after Tuesday’s games, followed a day later by Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Real Sociedad.
The German champions had Harry Kane pulling the ‘chestnuts out of the fire’ again and with two of his goals they narrowly defeated Galatasaray 2-1 in Munich, with Cedric Bakabu reducing for ‘Chi Bom’.
In the other group game, Rashford’s foolish action cost Manchester United a defeat that could mean elimination, not only from the rest of the competition but also from Europe.
The Red Devils were comfortably leading Copenhagen 2-0 at the Parken and were in control when the United striker tackled his opponent’s ankle in a very ‘bad’ tackle which may have caught the referee’s attention in the normal stream but not by the “Big Brother” of football, VAR…
The England forward was sent off in the 42nd minute and… the game turned upside down, with the Danes leveling at 2-2, United taking the lead again with a penalty and the home side achieving a complete turnaround with two goals in five minutes, in the twilight of the game .
The least that the management of the English team can do is a brave fine to Rashford and with it, a gift of a test… IQ to its footballer.
Arsenal are very close to qualification after their 2-0 victory at the Emirates against Sevilla, while for the same group, Eindhoven, with their first victory in the group (1-0 against Lens) caught the French in second position.
Results and scorers (Wednesday 8/11):
1st GROUP
- Bayern Munich-Galatasaray 2-1 (80′, 86′ Kane – 90’+3 Bakabou)
- Copenhagen-Manchester United 4-3 (45′ Eliunoussi, 45’+9 pen. Gonsalves, 83′ Lerager, 88′ Barji – 2′, 28′ Hoylud, 69′ pen. Fernandes)
The standings (in 4 games): Bayern Munich 12, Copenhagen 4, Galatasaray 4, Manchester United 3
2nd GROUP
- Arsenal-Seville 2-0 (29′ Trossard, 64′ Saka)
- Eindhoven-Lance 1-0 (12′ De Jong)
The standings (in 4 games): Arsenal 9, PSV 5, Lance 5, Sevilla 2
3rd GROUP
- Napoli-Union Berlin 1-1 (39′ Politano – 52′ Fofana)
- Real Madrid-Braga 3-0 (27′ Diath, 58′ Vinicius, 61′ Rodrigo)
The standings (in 4 games): Real Madrid 12, Napoli 7, Braga 3, Union Berlin 1
4th GROUP
- Sociedad-Benfica 3-1 (6′ Merino, 11′ Oyarthambal, 21′ Barenetsea – 50′ Rafa Silva)
- Salzburg-Inter 0-1 (86′ pen. Martines)
The standings (in 4 games): Sociedad 10, Inter 10, Salzburg 3, Benfica 0
