Man United staring Champions League exit in the face, Arsenal and PSV into last 16

Arsenal's Italian midfielder Jorginho scores his team's sixth goal from a penalty past Lens' French goalkeeper Brice Samba during the UEFA Champions League Group B football match between Arsenal and RC Lens at the Arsenal Stadium in north London on Nov. 29, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 30 November 2023
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Man United staring Champions League exit in the face, Arsenal and PSV into last 16

  • In order to go through Man United must now beat Bayern at home next month and hope Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw
  • Arsenal’s form in Europe this season has been in stark contrast to that of United, and the Gunners romped into the last 16 with a 6-0 demolition of Lens in London

PARIS: Manchester United are facing elimination from the Champions League in the group stage after squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday, while Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven secured qualification for the last 16.

Three-time European champions United needed a win in Turkiye, against opponents who beat them at Old Trafford last month, in order to keep qualification for the knockout rounds in their hands.

Erik ten Hag’s side appeared in control when Alejandro Garnacho’s early opener was followed by a stunning strike by Bruno Fernandes on 18 minutes.

Hakim Ziyech pulled one back with a free-kick, only for Scott McTominay to restore the visitors’ two-goal advantage early in the second half.

Yet Galatasaray were again given hope when another Ziyech free-kick was fumbled into the net by United goalkeeper Andre Onana, and the hosts equalized thanks to a brilliant 71st-minute strike by Kerem Akturkoglu.

United have now conceded 14 goals in five European matches and this result, combined with FC Copenhagen’s 0-0 draw away to already-qualified Bayern Munich, leaves the Premier League side bottom of Group A with one game remaining.

In order to go through they must now beat Bayern at home next month and hope Copenhagen and Galatasaray draw.

“We are going in the right direction so I know we will be successful in the long-term but if you want to stay in the Champions League you need to win these games,” said Ten Hag.

Arsenal’s form in Europe this season has been in stark contrast to that of United, and the Gunners romped into the last 16 with a 6-0 demolition of Lens in London.

Mikel Arteta’s side were five goals up at the break with Kai Havertz, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard all netting.

Jorginho completed the scoring from a late penalty as Arsenal gained revenge for their 2-1 defeat by Lens in France last month.

“Today was the day to get it done. We did it in a beautiful way,” Arteta told broadcaster TNT Sports.

Arsenal have scored 12 goals without reply in winning their three home matches in Group B and have now wrapped up top spot ahead of PSV, who are also through.

The Dutch side, European Cup winners in 1988, produced a superb comeback to triumph 3-2 away to Sevilla and put themselves out of sight in second place.

Goals by Sergio Ramos and Youssef En-Nesyri had Sevilla 2-0 up, but Lucas Ocampos was sent off for the hosts just before substitute Ismael Saibari, the Spanish-born Moroccan international, pulled one back for PSV.

They equalized through a Nemanja Gudelj own goal and won it in stoppage time through US forward Ricardo Pepi.

Sevilla now have to win at Lens next month to salvage a place in the Europa League, the competition they won last season.

Real Madrid were already through to the last 16 before hosting Napoli and they clinched top spot in Group C with a 4-2 victory at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Giovanni Simeone, son of Atletico Madrid coach Diego, gave Napoli an early lead, but Rodrygo equalized immediately, continuing his fine form with a superb strike for his seventh goal in his last seven games.

Jude Bellingham put the hosts ahead with his 15th goal of the season in all competitions only for Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa to get Napoli back level just after the restart.

However, teenage substitute Nico Paz made it 3-2 for Real with a long-range strike that evaded the goalkeeper’s grasp, and Bellingham set up Joselu to wrap up the win late on.

That result prevented Napoli from clinching qualification as they could still be caught by Braga, who drew 1-1 at home to Union Berlin in Portugal despite having Sikou Niakate sent off in the first half.

Robin Gosens fired Union in front but Alvaro Djalo levelled for the hosts after the break.

Real Sociedad and Inter Milan were both already through from Group D and their meeting next month will decide who tops the section.

On Wednesday, a much-changed Inter side recovered from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Benfica in Portugal after Joao Mario scored a first-half hat-trick against his old club.

Marko Arnautovic and Davide Frattesi pulled goals back for Inter before Alexis Sanchez levelled from the penalty spot, and Benfica were reduced to 10 men late on when Antonio Silva was sent off. Real Sociedad drew 0-0 with Red Bull Salzburg.


Morocco forced to wait for AFCON knockout place after Mali draw

Updated 27 December 2025
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Morocco forced to wait for AFCON knockout place after Mali draw

  • Stalemate with Mali ended Morocco’s world record winning run, which reached 19 matches with their 2-0 victory over Comoros
  • It also means Morocco have not yet confirmed their place in the knockout phase, although they are on top of Group A 

RABAT: Morocco missed the chance to guarantee their spot in the last 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations after Lassine Sinayoko’s second-half penalty earned Mali a 1-1 draw with the hosts on Friday.
The match was a tale of two spot-kicks, with Brahim Diaz giving Morocco the lead from a penalty deep in first-half injury time and Sinayoko replying on 64 minutes.
The stalemate at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the capital Rabat ended Morocco’s world record winning run which had been taken to 19 matches with their 2-0 victory over Comoros in the tournament’s opening game.
It also means Morocco have not yet confirmed their place in the knockout phase, although they are on top of Group A with four points from two games.
Mali come next on two points alongside Zambia, who drew 0-0 with minnows Comoros earlier in Casablanca.
Morocco next face Zambia on Monday and a victory in that match against the 2012 champions will ensure that the hosts go through as group winners.
“We’ll look back at the second half and see what the problem was but we didn’t play the way we did in the first half. We didn’t impose our game and had to drop off. The penalty changed the game a bit,” Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi told broadcaster beIN Sports.
“We go into the third game with the same approach, to win the game and finish top of the group.”
Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi, the African player of the year, was again an unused substitute as he continues his recovery from an ankle injury suffered playing for Paris Saint-Germain at the start of November.

Mbappe watches on 

His former PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe, the current Real Madrid superstar and France skipper, was among the spectators in the crowd of 63,844 and appeared to be wearing a Morocco shirt with Hakimi’s number two on it.
With Hakimi on the sidelines, Mbappe’s Real Madrid teammate Diaz was the main attraction on the pitch — the little number 10 forced a good save from Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra on 17 minutes and then played a key part in the penalty which led to the opening goal just before the interval.
Mali defender Nathan Gassama brushed the ball with his hand as he tried to stop Diaz dribbling past him inside the box, and the referee eventually awarded a spot-kick following a lengthy look at the pitchside VAR monitor.
Morocco’s Soufiane Rahimi had a spot-kick saved against Comoros but this time Diaz sent the goalkeeper the wrong way for his second goal of the tournament.
However Walid Regragui’s side, the best team in Africa according to the FIFA rankings, could not build on that as Mali won a penalty of their own just after the hour mark.
Sinayoko went down under a clumsy challenge by Jawad El Yamiq and 29-year-old Cameroonian referee Abdoul Abdel Mefire awarded the penalty after eventually being called over to check his screen.
Auxerre striker Sinayoko, having been booked apparently for something he said to the referee, kept his cool to stroke in the reward and restore parity.
Morocco substitute Youssef En-Nesyri was denied by a good Diarra save and Mali then held on through 10 minutes of stoppage time for a point, as the final whistle was greeted with jeers from the home fans.