Author: Serg Atrakhov, Barkha Roy
Copenhagen – Bayern – 1:2
Coppenhagen’s solid defense nullified the threat posed by Coman and Sane on Munich’s flanks. The Danish champions took the lead in surprising fashion in the 56th minute when Bayern failed to clear Claesson’s shot, allowing Lerager to score on the rebound and make it 1-0. The visitors responded in the 67th minute when Musiala showed good footwork on the edge of the box and drilled a low shot into the corner of the net, out of Grabara’s reach, to make it 1-1.
Thomas Müller, 34, who came on as a substitute in the 77th minute, played his 144th Champions League match. Without wasting any time, he took a touch and crossed for Leon Goretzka, but the midfielder’s header missed the target. However, Müller continued to contribute and, in the 83rd minute, he provided an assist for Tela – 1-2. Jordan Larsson could have given his side the equalizer in the 95th minute when Choupo-Moting’s header was deflected into the goal. However, Ulreich made an excellent save from a dive to preserve Bayern’s lead.
The German club extended their unbeaten run away from home in the Champions League group stage to 18 games. After two rounds of matches, Bayern are top of Group A on six points.
Manchester United – Galatasaray – 2:3
Bayern’s isolated lead was made possible by Manchester United’s failure. The Brits suffered a second defeat, this time at home to Galatasaray.
United went ahead in the 17th minute through Hoylund, but Zaha responded quickly to make it 1-1. At the start of the second half, Hoylund scored twice more (once offside), restoring the hosts’ lead. The Turks equalized thanks to Akturkoglu. In the 77th minute, Brazilian Casemiro received his second yellow and at the same time won a penalty in his own goal. Icardi’s shot was inaccurate, but after five minutes the striker still brought victory to the visitors – 2:3.
Anthony played the last five minutes for Manchester United, while Tete spent 62 minutes on the pitch for the away side. Note that this season Manchester (in all competitions) lost six out of ten games, conceding 18 goals, which was the team’s worst start since the 1966-67 season.
Lens – Arsenal – 2:1
In Group B, Lens striker Elye Vai scored a goal and provided an assist to help beat Arsenal in London. Although for the British it all started well. In the 14th minute, Saka found Gabriel Jesus with a pass – 1-0. Incidentally, Saka had to be substituted in the first half, fearing a recurrence of the injury.
But in the 25th minute, 20-year-old Vahi, bought from Montpellier in the summer, played a precise pass to Thomasson – 1:1. Note that in the 1998/99 season, Lens began his goal scoring streak, scoring in every European Cup home game since then, most notably against Arsenal. The streak now stands at 33 games.
FT: Lens 2-1 Arsenal
Listen to the ROAR! Arsenal beaten ❌
Look what it means to Lens 🥹 pic.twitter.com/C3sc3PuNCD
– Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) October 3, 2023
French goalkeeper Brice Samba made some fantastic saves to keep out shots from Havertz and Tomiyasui. In the 64th minute, Salis Abdulah Samed missed the target, but in the 69th minute, Vai turned Frankowski’s cross into a goal – 2:1.
38,000 spectators who came to the stadium celebrated the return of their favorites to the main European Cup club tournament. With 4 points, Lens lead their group, while Arsenal have 3 points.
PSV – Sevilla – 2:2
Sevilla and PSV drew in Eindhoven. Brazilian Ramalho was on the pitch for 82 minutes and even scored a goal for PSV in the first half, which was disallowed for offside. In the second half, Sevilla began to press. Pedrosa’s goal was disallowed, then the visitors hit the crossbar and, in the 68th minute, Gudelj finally opened the scoring. In the 86th minute, de Jong equalized, but PSV immediately conceded to draw 1-1.
In the 95th minute, the Dutch equalized through Jordan Teza. Brazilian Fernando played 66 minutes for Sevilla.