LONDON: Erik ten Hag has urged his Manchester United players to keep calm in the Galatasaray cauldron as they fight for their lives in the Champions League.
United are bottom of Group A and will be eliminated if they lose in Turkiye in their penultimate group fixture on Wednesday.
Even if they beat Galatasaray and defeat group winners Bayern Munich at Old Trafford in their final game, two wins for Copenhagen would send the Danish side through instead of Ten Hag’s team.
United, three-time European champions, have never won at Galatasaray — drawing twice and losing once.
They were famously greeted by Turkish fans in 1993 holding a banner that read “Welcome to Hell,” while others threw missiles and menacingly drew their fingers across their throats.
That game finished in a 0-0 draw, which sent United crashing out of Europe on the away goals rule after a 3-3 draw in the first leg.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Ten Hag insisted his men would travel with confidence despite their predicament and the hostile reception awaiting them in Istanbul.
“We know how to deal with it and I’m sure tomorrow it will be a confident team on the pitch,” said the Dutch manager.
“You have to stay calm in your head and don’t get too emotional. You need emotion but you have to control it. Don’t give them anything, or the referee as well.
“You have to stay away from such moments. We know how to deal with it. You have to play confident and you have to make it your game so it’s not that important how the opponent is playing, it’s important how we are playing.”
Ten Hag was asked what his plans were “to get out of hell.”
“We have to make it our game and it’s the history,” he said.
“Obviously Manchester United has a great history, but you can’t take any guarantee from it in the future, so we have to make our own future.
“It’s the past, so tomorrow, it’s about the future. It’s on us.”
The United boss said his side had improved since their shock 3-2 defeat to Galatasaray at Old Trafford early last month despite their inconsistent results.
They beat Everton 3-0 on Sunday to record their fifth Premier League win in six games.
“It’s good progress,” he said. “We are stepping up, we are more stable, we are winning games, so definitely there is a big difference from the first time we played them.”
United captain Bruno Fernandes said he was looking forward to playing in Galatasaray’s “intense” atmosphere.
“The atmosphere will be intense but I think everyone, as a kid, you enjoy and you want to be in these big stadiums with a big atmosphere so you just have to enjoy the challenge,” he said.
Well aware of the prestige that comes from playing in Europe’s elite club competition, Fernandes acknowledged the importance of United avoiding elimination on Wednesday.
“It’s really important to be in the competition, we want to be in the middle of the best clubs in Europe,” the Portugal midfielder said.
“It’s disappointing if we don’t go through but I’m not thinking about that at the moment.
“I’m just focused on the game against Galatasaray because the only way we can go through is winning against Galatasaray and going to the last game with a chance to go through.”
Rasmus Hojlund and Antony are in the squad after recovering from injuries, providing attacking options for a United side that will be without Marcus Rashford due to suspension.
Ten Hag urges Man Utd to keep calm in Galatasaray cauldron
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Ten Hag urges Man Utd to keep calm in Galatasaray cauldron
- United are bottom of Group A and will be eliminated if they lose in Turkiye in their penultimate group fixture on Wednesday
- Ten Hag insisted his men would travel with confidence despite their predicament and the hostile reception awaiting them in Istanbul
Teen soccer players lay to rest mate killed in Swiss bar fire
- Brodard is one of seven members of Lutry Football Club who died in the fire, the club said
- Five others are still fighting for their lives in hospitals
LUTRY, Switzerland: Teammates of a 16-year-old soccer player Arthur Brodard were among the mourners on Thursday as Switzerland held funerals for some of the victims of the New Year bar fire in Crans-Montana that killed 40 people, most of them teenagers.
Brodard is one of seven members of Lutry Football Club who died in the fire, the club said. Five others are still fighting for their lives in hospitals.
Under light snowfall, hundreds walked through Lutry’s cobbled streets past a large drawing of Brodard and his younger brother to the church, black umbrellas in hand, filling every pew and spilling into the aisles and doorway.
His mother, Laetitia Brodard-Sitre, carried a white teddy bear and a single red rose — his team colors.
“I want to hug you so tightly that neither of us can breathe. I love you with all my heart, Arthur,” she said, addressing her son’s coffin after singing a song in his memory.
Other class and teammates also gave eulogies, describing him as attentive, sincere, kind and thoughtful.
CLUB PAYS TRIBUTE
At the start of the ceremony, a song called “One day in the wrong place” by France’s Calogero played with the lyrics: “And it’s because they were there/One day in the wrong place.”
Brodard had reserved a table with friends on New Year’s Eve at Le Constellation bar, his mother told Reuters last week.
Just over an hour before the blaze, he texted her “Happy New Year mum. I love you” and shared a disappearing video of them partying together, she said.
His photo, showing him with tousled brown hair carrying a Yorkshire Terrier “Lili,” appeared in newspapers around the world as she sought information on his whereabouts from morgues and hospitals.
He was identified as one of the victims on January 3.
“We will now join forces to fight together, to get our heads above water, regain the initiative, and finally even the score, ball in the center,” Lutry Football Club President Stephane Bise told the congregation.
Swiss authorities said the bar in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana had not had a mandatory inspection since 2019 and questions remain about safety standards.
Swiss prosecutors are investigating the owners and victims’ families have filed legal complaints. The owners’ lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Lutry ceremony was one of two back-to-back services for teenage fire victims at the same church.
Another joint funeral for 14- and 15-year-old sisters took place in Lausanne. Schools have mobilized mental health counsellors to support students and teachers.
Twenty-one of the dead were from Switzerland, seven from France, six from Italy, and there was a Swiss-French dual national and a French-British-Israeli national. The remaining four were Romanian, Turkish, Belgian and Portuguese.
