Manchester United falls again in wild Champions League loss; impressive Real Madrid advances
The Hindu
Real Madrid, Sociedad, Bayern, Inter, Arsenal, Napoli, and PSV advance to Champions League Round of 16; Manchester United, Benfica, Copenhagen, and Galatasaray remain in contention.
On a royally good evening for standout Spanish teams, Manchester United fell in another wild loss in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Real Madrid and Real Sociedad advanced to the round of 16 with two games to spare after impressive home wins over Portuguese opponents, respectively 3-0 against Braga and 3-1 over Benfica.
Bayern Munich and Inter Milan also won and will be in the knockout phase after getting key late goals from their talismanic strikers, Harry Kane and Lautaro Martínez.
Kane scored in the 80th and 86th minutes in a 2-1 win over Galatasaray and Inter’s 1-0 win at Salzburg was sealed by Martínez’s penalty in the 85th.
Man United almost never has straightforward games in the English giant’s drama-filled season on and off the field.
A 4-3 loss at Copenhagen — the same result as United's opening game at Bayern — after twice letting leads slip left coach Erik ten Hag's team last in Group A.
The three-time European champion seemed in total control with a two-goal lead after 28 minutes earned by $80 million forward Rasmus Højlund, returning to face his former club.