Galatasaray – Manchester United: A Ridiculous And Spectacular Goalfest (3-3)

In a must-win game for both sides, Galatasaray and Manchester United played out a sublime and ludicrous draw to leave Group A in the balance going into the final week of fixtures. United once again dropped points from a winning position to provide Galatasaray a chance to achieve something they have not managed in a decade.
Tactical analysis and match report by Nick Hartland.

Ten years had passed since Galatasaray last reached the knockout stages of the Champions League, back when the team fielded the likes of Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder. And with two games left to go in the current group stages, there was hope that the decade-long wait was nearing its end. A victory tonight against United would not be enough to secure their place in the next round, but it would put their fate in their own hands going into the final game against Copenhagen. 

The permutations had been made simple for United after a historically dreadful start to their Champions League campaign that saw them bottom of the group coming into this fixture. Defeat would make progression to the round of 16 mathematically impossible, while a win would need Copenhagen to lose in their visit to Bayern Munich later that evening to jump United into second place. If results went their way then qualification would be within their grasp from the most unlikely of scenarios. 

Okan Buruk went with a 4-2-3-1 formation packed with attacking talent. In goal, was the stalwart Fernando Muslera, behind a back four of Angeliño, Kaan Ayhan, Abdülkerim Bardakcı, and Sacha Boey. In the . . .