Jamie Jackson's match report
Here’s our Manchester correspondent’s take on another humbling defeat for United:
Thanks for all your emails. It’s been fun*.
* Unless you support Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjær has emerged: “The performance wasn’t good enough against a team that worked and ran and hit us on the break. They scored two goals that teams do when you don’t defend well. We played a short corner and forgot about the man up front and that’s unforgivable. Two soft goals. And then we didn’t have enough to come back in the second half. We threw everything at it but couldn’t break them down. We were not good enough. That’s it. It’s not easy to be positive when we’ve lost the way we have but these players are good players and we have a chance on Saturday to get going again.”
Updated
Kai Havertz has tested positive for Covid-19 and has been excluded from Chelsea’s squad for their game against Rennes this evening. The match has just kicked off and you can follow it with Rob Smyth here:
While we wait for some reaction I’ll throw in some more of your footballers seen in transit stories, which I have throughly enjoyed this evening. “My biggest claim to fame is ordering a pint in the VIP lounge at Old Trafford flanked by George Best on my left and Bobby Charlton on my right,” writes Malc Suttleworth. “Ron Atkinson, dressed up to the nines in gold and fur, was behind me chatting to Elton Welsby.” Ah, Elton Welsby, the legend himself.
“I sat by Eric Cantona on an early Sunday morning flight from Manchester to Paris, just a few days after the infamous Kung Fu kick incident,” writes Steve Markey. “I was reading the Sunday Times sport section when he sat down, and the headline was ‘Ou est Cantona?’ accompanied by a photo of him flying into the crowd. I looked at him, he looked at my newspaper, smiled his enigmatic smile, closed his eyes and went to sleep.”
“Met Pat Jennings at Dublin airport about 15 years ago,” writes Richard Duerden. “He looked exactly the same as in his playing days. Lovely thick hair and the deepest voice in the world. Nice fella.” But did he use his legs to stop a loose bottle of beer rolling down the aisle?
And this from Gautam Grover: “I met David Moyes at Chicago O’Hara. Was in a hurry so I just yelled his name. I think he was surprised someone in the US knew who he was.”
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If United defend anything like they did tonight against Everton on Saturday they will be in trouble. Demba Ba gave them problems and he is almost twice as old as the in-form Dominic Calvert-Lewin. “They were second best in virtually every phase outside possession,” says Owen Hargreaves. That’s the worry. They bossed possession but wandered forwards and were caught out of position countless times when they lost the ball. Everton will punish them in the transitions unless they get organised.
Full-time: Basaksehir 2-1 Manchester United
Rafael is fouled by Martial and shortly after the whistle is blown. Cheers from the handful of fans ring around this little stadium. It’s Basaksehir’s first ever win in the Champions League. And what a win! United’s defending was diabolical in that first half, though. That’s a soul-sapping defeat to take into the game against Everton on Saturday lunchtime. Basaksehir defended like lions and deserved the win. They counter-attacked intelligently and with purpose.
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90+2 min: Maguire heads towards goal, the ball loops up off Cavani (I think) and is about to cross the line when Epureanu wallops the ball from under the bar and out for a corner. The referee looks at his clever watch. No goal. It’s about an inch away from being fully over. The corner is headed down by Pogba towards Martial’s outstretched leg but drifts out for a goal-kick.
90+1 min: Kahveci is replaced by the brilliantly named Ponck.
90 min: I’ve barely seen Cavani touch the ball. Skrtel clatters into Martial and gets booked for his efforts. The free-kick is knocked into the box and cleared again.
88 min: Shaws curls a cross to the back post but it is cleared easily, then Fernandes finds Maguire at the back post but the centre-back’s header across goal is collected by Gunok. United are applying pressure but it doesn’t feel like it is going to overwhelm Basaksehir.
87 min: Mehmet Topal, who has played since time began, replaces Ozcan as Basaksehir look to waste a little more time.
84 min: A long clearance drops to Gulbrandsen, who is clean through on goal if he can sprint clear of Fosu-Mensah. He can’t. The replacement full-back’s legs spin like crazy to eat up the ground and snuff out the danger.
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82 min: Nathan Dalton has a good one: “In 2014, I met then-senator George Weah at a meeting while I was working with the United Nations in Liberia. He’s now president.” Ah, but was he in transit, Nathan? United are camped out on the edge of the Basaksehir area. Greenwood looks lively but Fernandes and Pogba are yet to find the space to slip the ball through to him. Skrtel has done an outstanding job in marshalling the his defence.
80 min: Rafael has shown all the attributes that led him to be considered as a bit of a cult hero by United fans. He clatters into both Pogba and Martial and emerges with the ball before springing a counter-attack from which Gulbrandsen wins a corner with a deflected shot. the corner comes to nothing. Pogba finds Maguire, who overhits yet another cross-field pass intended for Martial on the left.
79 min: Demba Ba is replaced by Gulbrandsen. He played very well this evening considering he is about 376 years old and doesn’t regularly start. He limps off after overstretching in an attempt to tackle Maguire but instead fouling him.
76 min: Kahveci shows some lovely footwork as he races up the right before cutting inside two Manchester United players (one of whom is Pogba, who doesnlt do much to stop him). He finds Visca on the left. The attacker drops a shoulder and zips to the byline but his cross is blocked diligently by Fosu-Mensah. A double-ricochet means it’s a United goal-kick. That’s the first attack Basaksehir have had in ages.
75 min: Wan Bissaka has space on the right but hits the first man with his cross. It’s his last act of the night. Two more changes for Manchester United. Greenwood, who starred as the lead image for this MBM as he got cosy on the flight to Istanbul, is on for Rashford, who has barely had a sniff. And Wan Bissaka is replaced by Fosu-Mensah.
73 min: Pogba wallops a hopeless cross or shot (I’m not sure which), high into the Instanbul night that may end up the Bosphorus for all I know. “Fred is a much maligned but necessary part of any United team that wants to be successful,” reckons paulsutc1. “He does the dirty work and gets it in the neck from the fans. The ‘flair’ players in the more attacking positions, both midfield and attack, don’t do much work off the ball when under pressure and tend to wait for the next turnover/transition to happen. A glance at the league leaders would show that good teams are the sum of their parts and cannot rely on players to just limit themselves to what they feel they can do the best. United play a brand of football where every player seems to have a clear position and demarcated area on the pitch.”
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71 min: Martial is clattered as he pops the ball inside to Pogba, who races forwards to the edge of the box and shapes to shoot before failing in an attempt to dink a too-clever pass through to Fernandes. Basaksehir are defending ever deeper, though, and United are in total control of the ball.
68 min: Fernandes floats a cross in towards Pogba at the back post but Basaksehir’s defence stands strong. They have an average age of about 967, so they are holding their line well with all that experience. “I can’t see the Ba goal from here (Vancouver) but was it anything like the space given to Jordy Reyna in this move?” asks Wayne Ziants. Yes, it certainly was, Wayne.
Probably not how they drew that one up...
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 16, 2020
But still in the net for @WhitecapsFC! 2-0. #VANvSJ pic.twitter.com/XbSmvaV46p
66 min: There’s audible laughter as Demba Ba tries to beat Henderson from the halfway line only to scuff his shot and watch it dribble through to the United keeper. to be fait he slips on his arse as he hits it. Somebody should create a catchy song about that.
65 min: Wan Bissaka makes a trademark stretch to prevent a Bolingoli cross reaching Ba in the box after a lovely reverse pass from Visca on the edge of the area.
63 min: Fernandes drops a shoulder and glides past two defenders on the edge of the area before watching his shot cannon off Epureanu. He never stops trying. He’s such a brave player, always willing to try something when others won’t. Martial then tries to nutmeg Rafael but fails and then drags the former United full-back down to prevent a counter-attack.
60 min: Cavani is on for United in place of Mata and Pogba will have half an hour to show his worth after replacing Van De Beek, who was ineffective in a deeper position this evening.
59 min: Mata’s quicksilver feet lay the ball off to Fernandes on the edge of the area. He fires a low shot towards the far corner but Skrtel’s buttocks take the sting out of the shot and the ball drops into Gunok’s hands.
57 min: Visca finds Bolingoli on the overlap but the on-loan Celtic full-back, who has been impressive tonight, dribbles a weak cross in that is hacked clear. Basaksehir win back possession and a deep cross is aimed at Turuc. The ball squirts clear and Kahveci thrashes a shot wildly over from the edge of the box. Meanwhile, the footballers spotted in transit continue to flood in:
@GreggBakowski
— DoubtfulOptimist (@PEllis0202) November 4, 2020
I was starstruck seeing Emmanuel Adebayor & the rest of the Togo team, midnight in departures at Kotoko Airport, Accra. They were on their way to that classic fixture with Botswana. He signed my boarding pass and was otherwise bemused.
55 min: Fernandes whips it over the wall but it’s too central and Gunok smiles for the cameras as he parries it away.
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53 min: Rafael throws himself into a challenge against Fernandes, winning the ball with his toe but clattering into Fernandes in a way that just isn’t allowed these days. Ten years ago that was seen as a clean tackle. Fernandes and Mata stand over it, 20 yards out in a central position …
50 min: Mata plays a clever pass inside to Fernandes on the right. The playmaker steams up the right and cuts a ball back towards the penalty area, but it’s a low one and easily cleared. Given the fine headed goal Martial scored, they could do worse than try to hand a few balls up in the air. I’m sure slightly smaller, younger legs could outjump longer, older ones if you give them the chance.
49 min: Shaw fires a low ball up to Martial, who tries to hold the ball up but loses concentration and watches it squirt through his legs and back to Gunok in the Basaksehir goal. It’s not happening for United. They are at least winning possession back quicker now, with McTominay snapping into tackles like a faithful dog hungry to find his favourite ball.
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47 min: Van De Beek swivels in possession and looks up. Nothing on. He knocks it back to Maguire, who wallops it out of play. Oh dear! “Hopefully a mention of the great George Best will change United’s luck,” writes John Hubbard. “My wife and I were on our way through Gatwick on our way out to Ibiza in the early 80s, and saw George Best, thick beard days, sitting alone in the departure lounge, nursing an orange juice (it was morning). Being an even bigger fan of George than me (or I bottled it), my wife approached him and asked for his autograph. Best was happy to oblige, but the only paper she had on her was her holiday novel, The Magus by John Fowler. He signed and was absolutely charming.”
It's the second half!
45 min: Peep! Axel Tuanzebe, one of the Manchester United centre-backs who was awol for much of the first half, has been replaced by Scott McTominay. Matic appears to have gone back into central defence.
And yes, that Demba Ba clear run and finish was reminiscent of a moment made famous in song involving Steven Gerrard.
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“A picture of Tuanzebe on a milk carton would be appropriate, he’s a totally lost boy out there,” writes Peter Littley. “Would have thought Maguire could do more to support but maybe he’s already child minding for Shaw and Matic. What a sorry performance, this surely can’t be what OGS drew up?” I suspect he will end up using more substitutes than he would have liked with a trip to Goodison just over 60 hours away. I have this in my head now. It’ll do as a half-time musical interlude:
I’ve just seen a replay of the first goal that United conceded. It really is ridiculous. It came after United played a short corner and kept every player in the Basaksehir half, even when they were just keeping possession on the edge of their opponents’ area. They could sell this as a Christmas comedy DVD:
35-year-old Demba Ba scores against Manchester United on a one-man counter-attack...
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 4, 2020
Yes, this really happened 🤯 pic.twitter.com/YCDqlFqbyj
A few more for the collection of players spotted while travelling:
@GreggBakowski I was on the same plane to London as Michael Carrick and Vincent Kompany the Monday morning after the Aguerooooo title winner. Kompany was jubilant, signing autographs and posing for photos, Carrick unsurprisingly less so - somewhat grumpily keeping his head down!
— Alex Metcalfe (@oafcmetty) November 4, 2020
After Everton won the FA Cup semi-final at Leeds in 1995, I got a lift back to Lime Street @GreggBakowski. Liverpool had lost at home and McManaman, Fowler and Redknapp were on our train to Euston. I showed Steve my match ticket (£40!) He agreed that it couldn't go on - it did..
— Gary Naylor (@garynaylor999) November 4, 2020
And here’s Simon Kerr with a couple of crackers: “My experience with footballers on the travel makes me realise just how important Mr 10% is to them, otherwise they’d sign any old crap. I saw Bryan Robson in the 80s next to a conveyor belt at the checkout of Roy Halls (does that count as travelling)? He signed the back of a 5kg tub of marge which was all we had to hand at the time. And on a train from Manchester to London to watch the 2002 WC and visit my long suffering Oldham fan brother, I sat opposite Iain Dowie. Dowie who sporting called my brother, after which he put his scribble on the inside cover of a Dan Brown book.” Dan Brown? Seriously?
Half-time: Basaksehir 2-1 Manchester United
Manchester United have not found Europe to be a comfort zone away from their domestic travails. They’ve defended atrociously. That Martial goal will just have lifted the mood a little at half-time, mind. Solskjær still has some tinkering to do, though. Back in a bit.
44 min: I think a more direct approach may suit United. Every time they go forwards in numbers they seem to forget that they have to leave some players back to defend.
Goal! Basaksehir 2-1 Manchester United (Martial 42)
Well, this has gotten lively! Shaw cuts inside Rafael and floats a lovely cross right on to Martial’s head. The striker guides his header into the far corner with nonchalant ease. They made scoring look easy, then.
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Goal! Basaksehir 2-0 Manchester United (Visca 40)
Fernandes does invent something … for Basaksehir. He miscontrols in midfield and the ball pops backwards to Mata, who is on the back foot and is outmuscled by Kahveci. He races up the left wing and pulls a low ball back for Ba, who cleverly steps over the ball and allows Visca to fire home powerfully from the edge of the area. A fine finish.
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38 min: Fernandes is at the heart of everything inventive that United are doing. He looks up and wants Martial and Rashford to show for him. With nothing on he throws Bolingli a dummy before crossing to the near post. Martial and Rashford just don’t seem to be anywhere, though.
37 min: Fernandes picks out Mata in the box with a clever dink forwards. The Spaniard lays the ball off to Wan Bissaka, who knocks teh ball out of his feet before dinking a ball nto the box to … nobody. Basaksehir break and United are slow in the defensive transition again. Kahveci shuffles up the left and cuts inside. He’s at the edge of the box and should shoot … but instead plays a weak ball inside and United clear.
35 min: Which is why United will be grateful that Aleksic overhits the cross in, which is deemed to have gone out of play behind the goal before Visca could head it back across goal.
33 min: Visca heads straight at Henderson from 10 yards out after a delicious cross from the left from Bolingoli. Safe hands from Henderson but Wan Bissaka is struggling a little over on the right. Moments later Matic fouls Turuc on the edge of the box when he really didn’t need to. This is a dangerous position for a free-kick.
30 min: Wan Bissaka skidaddles up the right wing and cuts a cross back towards Martial at the back edge of the box. The striker takes a touch and unleashes a fierce shot that Rafael dives into like he’s trying to stop a grenade going off. That’s a brave block and the kind of thing a ninja turtle would do.
29 min: I’ve been trying not to mention the US election.
These matches without the added crowd noise are no fun to watch @GreggBakowski If I wanted to listen to some awful shouting I'd be watching Fox News Election 2020 coverage instead of this. #UCL
— Gary Mongan (@mongan_091) November 4, 2020
27 min: Shaw zooms up the left but fails to back himself when confronted with a defender and loses possession. A moment later Fernandes’s feet sparkle as he spins away from Ozcan on the edge of the box before prodding a ball through towards Rashford that is deflected, allowing Skrtel to clear. This is more promising from United, though.
24 min: The handful of Basaksehir ultras (perhaps hired in?) have quietened down now. It’s understandable why. It’s turning into a scrappy game. Skrtel fouls Martial as he tries to hold the ball up so some midfielders can get up in support. United waste the resulting free-kick.
22 min: Skrtel crunches into a tackle with Shaw. United win a throw-in and immediately give the ball away again. Basaksehir look content to sit back on this lead which is giving Rashford and Martial no room in behind to run into. “At the tail end of 2006 I was queuing to go through passport control in Amsterdam airport when I noticed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer directly behind me with his wife and young kids,” writes Thomas Nolan. “Being a United fan I was really buzzed and I knew I just had to say something - I could see his wife had noticed me looking around and I’m sure she was thinking ‘Oh God not another one - when will we ever be free of these guys?’ At that point Ole had just returned from a terrible run of injuries and had recently scored in a match versus Charlton. I picked my moment and turned around and said ‘It’s great to see you back doing what you do best’. He said Thank you and I left them. For that flight home and for the rest of the weekend I just couldn’t stop smiling and I felt like the happiest kid in the whole wide world - I was 36 at the time.”
20 min: Tuanzebe is booked for pulling back Demba Ba midway in the United half. He’s the last man though Demba Ba was some way from goal and the pass through was on an angle so the booking is understandable. The free-kick is hammered into the United wall.
18 min: Rafael then causes some concern in the United defence with a hoof forwards that Ba gets his head to again. Ozcan and Visca combine on the edge of the box and the ball is worked to Bolingoli, who overhits a cross from the left that Rashford clears after calmly bringing down under pressure in the United box.
16 min: That’s the first goal Basaksehir have scored in the Champions League this season. They will never score an easier one. Ba flicks the ball on towards Turuc but Wan-Bissaka does well to sniff out the danger and clear.
14 min: I’m still trying to get my head around what happened there. Matic was the deepest United player I could see, a good 10 yards inside the Basaksehir half. There may have been another player deeper out of view, but it was a comically high line.
GOAL! Basaksehir 1-0 Manchester United (Ba 13)
Well, this is ridiculous. United are on the attack, when the ball is plucked off them near the Basaksehir area. A clearance upfield finds Ba, in his own half, ahead of every single Manchester United player. He runs alone to the edge of the box and slips the ball past Henderson. That is defending of which an under-sevens side would be embarrassed.
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11 min: A warning for United as Visca hammers a shot just over from 25 yards. United’s defence – and midfield – were just standing off.
10 min: Shaw drags a left-footed daisycutter from the edge of the area a yard wide after some fine triangular passing in midfield that began with Van De Beek spinning away from his marker in a deep position. He looks lively, as he did last week against Leipzig.
8 min: “I was sat in a semi-unconscious state at Charles de Gaulle airport a few years ago, due to massive sleep deprivation (and obviously alcohol), waiting for a connection,” begins Adam Keeling. “I woke from my stupor at one point to see Christian Karembeu walk past me. He first smiled and then laughed before giving me a thumbs-up as he walked off towards baggage claim. I did a doubletake and then passed out again.” Basaksehir have been very wasteful in possession thus far. they’re known for trying to play out from the back but most of the balls forwards so far have been high and ugly.
7 min: Maguire floats in a lovely ball to the backpost, where Fernandes pulls off Bolingoli before trying to Van Basten a volley into the far corner. He doesn’t succeed. The ball flies across goal where no teammate is in support. United are starting to dominate possession now, though, popping the ball around midfield authoritatively.
5 min: Bolingoli does that rarest of things and actually dribbles past Wan Bissaka but he cuts the ball back for Ba when he has a better chance to fire in a low cross himself. Ba’s cross is overhit and drifts out for a goal-kick.
4 min: Basaksehir have a nice spell of possession, patiently playing the ball out from the back. Eventually, Aleksic whips in a cross from the left that United clear comfortably. Fernandes immediately tries to spring a counter-attack with a long ball over the top for Rashford that Epureanu is alert to.
2 min: Matic prods the ball down the inside-left channel, where he tries to skip past Skrtel but the veteran defender gets a toe to the ball and concedes a throw-in.
Peep!
1 min: Manchester United get us under way. They’re shooting from left to right on my TV.
Right, it’s almost time for kick-off at the Fatih Terim Stadium, where there will be a handful of fans in executive boxes apparently. Some singing is audible. I’m assuming they have the windows open in those boxes. The officials trot out, followed by the two teams. Manchester United are wearing that weird zebra away kit. It might be offensive to the eye but it must be a great help when picking out a teammate. Basaksehir are wearing orange, or maybe it’s vermilion. It’s raining in Instanbul. The ball will fair zip about. Let’s go!
Peter Oh has gotten close to a giant among men: “I was in the Boston, Massachusetts area to see a USA-Netherlands friendly on the eve of the 2002 World Cup. After the game the Netherlands team bus drove by where I stood outside the ground. I waved and I got a wave back from Feyenoord ace Pierre van Hooijdonk.”
Matthew Charlesworth can raise us a former Everton and Wigan striker, though: “I once stood next to Kevin Campbell at a baggage carousel at Manchester Airport (as reported in a minute-by-minute report during the 2002 World Cup).” We weren’t big on pictures 18 years ago.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjær speaks: “For some reason we have really performed well in away games and had some good performances at home that haven’t given us a result. [Pogba is on the bench] for game management reasons,” he says. As for why he has started with Henderson, he says it’s because he is a good goalkeeper and he also has an eye on the Everton game on Saturday. “Dean has been great in the games he’s played and Dean deserves his start. If we can win tonight that is a good response from the result at the weekend. We just focus on this performance and if we get three points that’s great. We need to focus because sometimes teams that people don’t know about can be a surprise but not of us because we have analysed these opponents.”
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John Barnes is everywhere! “I was checking in at Heathrow one time and noticed John Barnes and his family at another check in desk,” begins Dan Hare. “He was wearing what I can only describe as a horrific reverse pin-stripe white flannel suit, so at least footballers have always had terrible taste. Very sad to see as a Watford boy.”
@GreggBakowski I once saw Paul Ince coming down an escalator at Manchester Airport as I was going up. I immediately took the pose of Pacino in Carlito’s Way. Lucky escape Incey as my fingers weren’t loaded
— Fabian Crusoe (@FabianCrusoe1) November 4, 2020
“My son Ben was offered a lift from the Camp Nou by Thierry Henry, who had just starred in a La Liga victory,” begins Terry Walker. “As they zoomed down the Ramblas... ‘Who do you support then, Ben?’ ‘Man United’. Henry slammed on the brakes. ‘Get out of the car’. ‘Only kidding”, laughed Henry. You have to admire players with a sense of humour. It seems there are few of them around nowadays.” I’m not saying I don’t believe you Terry, but isn’t the Ramblas pedestrianised?
Basaksehir’s Martin Skrtel speaks: “We try to get as many points as we can. Now is the time to get some points. This is my fifth season (in Turkey) and if we continue to improve we will see more Turkish sides in Europe.” I never said he would have something interesting to say. His centre-back partner tonight is Alexandru Epureanu, 34. They have a combined age of 69. They will have to use all their experience to keep Rashford and Martial at bay.
Here’s a tweet that helps redress the balance:
@GreggBakowski Footballers and transport... crossing Princess Road in Manchester the first car at the red traffic light was a Range Rover driven by Roy Keane. He looked at the lights like they were a traffic version of Andy D'Urso.
— billypilgrimage (@billypilgrimage) November 4, 2020
And Daniel Tunnard ticks all the right boxes with this one:
@GreggBakowski I saw Philippe Senderos on a flight from Zurich to London City in 2016. It wasn't very exciting, for either of us.
— Daniel Tunnard (@Danieltunnard) November 4, 2020
Paul Scholes is critiquing Manchester United’s season so far and has been less than impressed with United’s midfield creativity. “They need to offer more,” he says, seeming particularly unimpressed with the service dished up for Rashford and Martial in recent league games. Owen Hargreaves believes the lineup tonight – in which Matic is the only sitting midfielder – is more suited to unpicking the Basaksehir defence. Van De Beek is a clever player. I think he may stake a claim for a regular starting place this evening.
I will bring you some buildup when coverage properly gets under way but in the meantime your encounters with footballers on transport continues with another former Liverpool player. “I once bumped into Graeme Souness in the departure lounge at Heathrow,” begins Kieran McHugh. “Anyway as I was a bit of a fan - not massive, but I do feel he is seriously underrated as a player – I asked him if I could buy him a drink. He had a sparkling water with a chunk of lime. Myself and my mate had a pint each. There was minimal chat. Two days later we were dipping our toes in the warm waters off Kuta beach, Bali to find out he’d had a triple bypass. I couldn’t help wondering if he might as well of had that pint.”
It would appear only former Liverpool players are spotted in airports: “Evening, Gregg,” writes Ian Copestake. “A few years ago I emerged from the innards of Manchester Airport to find myself walking alongside John Barnes. I didn’t ask for a selfie, or an autograph, or say anything because walking alongside him made me feel like we were teammates.”
Excellent, Ian. Though I can’t help but feel that you missed a trick by not shouting: “Come on lads. Let’s get into these!” while doing so.
Footballers spotted on transport. This is a good one:
@GreggBakowski I sat behind Bruce Grobbelaar on the first ever transatlantic flight from Leeds Bradford Airport into NY, circa 2008.
— menny rooms (@rnhpts) November 4, 2020
The teams!
Istanbul Basaksehir: Gunok, Da Silva, Skrtel, Epureanu, Bolingoli Mbombo, Aleksic, Kahveci, Visca, Ozcan, Turuc, Ba. Subs: Babacan, Topal, Kivanc, Giuliano, Gulbrandsen, Ponck, Kaplan, Karakus.
Man Utd: Henderson, Wan Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Maguire, Shaw, Matic, Van de Beek, Bruno Fernandes, Mata, Martial, Rashford. Subs: De Gea, Lindelof, Pogba, Cavani, Greenwood, Fred, James, Fosu-Mensah, Ighalo, Williams, McTominay, Mengi.
Tonight’s whistleblower: Davide Massa (Italy)
So it’s an interesting United lineup. Dean Henderson makes his European debut, the versatile Axel Tuanzebe is given his second start of the season, with Donny Van De Beek coming into midfield in place of Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial leading the line with Rashford in close company. And Rafael, Martin Skrtel and Demba Ba start for Basaksehir. Skrtel’s 35 and wasn’t particularly fast when he was 25. Rashford and Martial could go to town on him.
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If you want a bit more background information about Manchester United’s opponents this evening, who were only founded in 1990 (yes, Rafael is the same age as the club he plays for!) and don’t have many fans (not that that matters much at the moment), then this piece written by Nick Ames in 2018 is a good starting point.
That picture of Mason Greenwood getting comfortable on the flight to Istanbul has got me thinking of which footballers you have seen while travelling somewhere? I once said hello to Thierry Henry on a train to Liverpool before a match at Anfield and this Knowledge says he once used the train to travel to the stadium for his New York Red Bulls debut. I imagine he has a Hornby train set at home somewhere. Edgar Davids being spotted buying a train ticket for Scunthorpe away when he was at Crystal Palace is a fine example too.
Preamble
Hello! Manchester United’s form in the Premier League might well be ropey but in the Champions League they have been picture perfect, taking away a 2-1 win from last season’s runners-up, PSG, and then thumping Leipzig 5-0 at Old Trafford. Good in Europe but inconsistent domestically? They’re turning into Rafa Benítez’s Liverpool! Put down your phone. Don’t send that angry tweet. I’m only kidding. They face the bottom-placed side in Group H this evening. Turkish champions Istanbul Basaksehir have lost to both Leipzig and PSG in their opening games and they too have struggled domestically – they’re currently seventh after seven games.
Ole Gunnar Solskjær will likely rotate with a huge match against Everton – who have no such European distraction – kicking off just 64 hours after this one ends. Debate always tends to rage around Paul Pogba and whether he will ever find consistency, but he probably won’t start this evening, with Donny van de Beek likely to get the nod in a changed midfield from the one that created so little in the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal.
United will face their former right-back Rafael da Silva. He now stars as an internet meme for his new club and was delighted to be drawn in the same Group as United. “Dreams can come true,” he crooned in the Gabrielle style after hearing of the draw. The 30-year-old played a key role in the 2-1 victory over Konyaspor last weekend and his desire to get forwards will be needed again this evening with Basaksehir yet to score in their first two group matches. Harry Maguire might even be able to look at Twitter after this game. Other names you may recognise among the Turkish side’s ranks are Nacer Chadli and Martin Skrtel, who said before this match that Liverpool’s defeat to Chelsea in 2014 “still haunts me”. It really doesn’t help that Demba Ba is a teammate, then.
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