Manchester United gave up a 2-goal advantage to suffer a humiliating defeat as Copenhagen came from behind twice in a seven-goal thriller on Wednesday night in a Uefa Champions League (UCL) match
The defeat gave Erik ten Hag’s UCL hopes a huge blow as the Red Devils now sit bottom of Group A with just three points from three matches.
Rasmus Hojlund’s brace had put United in control against his former club, but Marcus Rashford’s red card sparked an incredible turnaround for Copenhagen.
This first half was as dramatic as it was action-packed. Several breaks in play followed Hojlund’s third-minute opener at the end of a fine team move before the Copenhagen native scored his second and was denied a hat-trick.
After a VAR review, Rashford was sent off for catching Elias Jelert, with Mohamed Elyounoussi scoring before Diogo Goncalves levelled from the spot after a Harry Maguire handball.
A wild first half was followed by a pulsating second period. Skipper Bruno Fernandes’ penalty put United back ahead, only for Lukas Lerager to level again and substitute Roony Bardghji sealed an incredible Copenhagen victory.
On the other hand, Arsenal took a huge step towards qualifying for the knock-out stages of the UCL as the Gunners comfortably put two goals past the Spanish side.
Bukayo Saka starred in victory, providing an assist for the first goal before scoring the second. However, the forward had to limp off late on.
He set up the opening goal for Leandro Trossard before scoring the second himself as the Gunners secured a straightforward 2-0 win at the Emirates Stadium.
Mikel Arteta opted to play Trossard through the middle as his central striker, with Eddie Nketiah joining Gabriel Jesus on the injury list, with the Belgium forward the only change from Saturday’s defeat at Newcastle.
Kai Havertz, without a goal from open play since his £65million summer move from Chelsea, fluffed his lines with an early headed chance, but Arsenal set out their intent from the off.
Saka went down again under close contact from Salas, but this time, Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs was unmoved as the hosts wanted a penalty.
Read also Copenhagen vs Man United: Eriksen confident of Red Devils’ victory
Just moments later, however, the deadlock was broken. The lively Saka unsurprisingly laid on the assist for Trossard to tap home – but Jorginho was the architect with a slide-rule pass to start the move.
It was the only shot on target of a forgettable first half as Sevilla, without a La Liga or Champions League win under head coach Diego Alonso since his appointment last month.
Havertz bent an effort inches wide as Arsenal went in search of a second after the break, and Trossard should have done better soon after but curled his strike the wrong side of the post.
It was Saka, though, who made the difference again, beating the offside trap to race onto a Gabriel Martinelli pass before cutting Adria Pedrosa inside to score the second goal.
In Madrid, Real also beat Braga 3-0 comfortably, even though ball possession appears somewhat close at Real Madrid 49 percent and Braga at 51 percent.
Goals from Brahim Diaz in the 27th minute and Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo in the 58 and 61st minutes, respectively, gave Real Madrid a comfortable three points to secure their last 16 place in the Champions League.
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