Arsenal and Manchester make mistakes
Kroos celebrates a successful anniversary thanks to Bellingham
October 3rd, 2023, 11:15 p.m
Toni Kroos now has 100 games in the Champions League under his belt and thanks to former Dortmund player Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid narrowly prevailed in Naples. In a wild game, Galatasaray Istanbul defeated Manchester United and Arsenal suffered their first defeat of the season.
Former world champion Toni Kroos took the next step towards the round of 16 in his anniversary game with Real Madrid. The Royals prevailed 3-2 (2-1) against the Italian champions SSC Napoli in the 100th Champions League game of the midfield engine for Real and climbed to the top of the table thanks to their second success in Group C with Union Berlin. Vinicius Junior (27th), Jude Bellingham (34th), who already prepared the 1-0, and Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret (78th) scored for the Madrilenians.
National player Kai Havertz, on the other hand, surprisingly suffered his first defeat of the season with Arsenal FC. In the second group game, the favored Gunners lost 1:2 (1:1) at RC Lens despite the lead by Gabriel Jesus (14th). Adrien Thomasson (25th) and Elye Wahi (69th) turned the game around, Havertz was substituted after 70 minutes. In the 2-2 (0-0) draw in the parallel game in Group B, PSV Eindhoven saved a point against Sevilla FC in the last minute.
Galatasaray wins in a wild game
In Bayern Group A, Galatasaray Istanbul stayed ahead of Munich after a wild 3-2 (1-1) win over Manchester United. Wilfried Zaha (23rd), Kerem Aktürkoglu (71st) and Mauro Icardi (81st) completed the surprise at Old Trafford despite a missed penalty (78th), with the Turks moving up to second place with four points. After goals from Rasmus Hojlund (17th/67th) and the yellow-red card against Casemiro (77th), United lost a lead twice and are at the bottom of the table with zero points.
Former Gladbacher Marcus Thuram (62nd) gave Inter Milan, finalists in the previous season, an unadorned 1-0 (0-0) against Benfica Lisbon under coach Roger Schmidt, for whom it was the second defeat in the second game. Real Sociedad San Sebastian meanwhile celebrated their first victory in the premier class in 20 years. Thanks to goals from captain Mikel Oyarzabal (7th) and Brais Mendez (27th), the Basques won 2-0 (2-0) at Red Bull Salzburg – and took first place in Group D.
Earlier in the evening, the Spanish football club Real Sociedad San Sebastian celebrated its first victory in the Champions League in 20 years. The Basques deservedly won 2-0 (2-0) at Red Bull Salzburg. Captain Mikel Oyarzabal (7th) and Brais Mendez (27th), who had already been successful in the 1-1 draw against last year’s finalists Inter Milan, scored for the guests. Most recently, San Sebastian, which had qualified for the premier class for only the third time, was successful at Galatasaray on September 30, 2003 (2-1). In the second participation in 2013/14 there was only one draw and five defeats.