Rashford out for Galatasaray, ready for Bayern Munich
Luckily for Marcus Rashford, the skilled 26-year-old striker for Manchester United, he will only have to face a one-game ban in the UEFA Champions League. This penalty is a consequence of his red card in the recent defeat against FC Copenhagen. Unfortunately, Rashford will not be able to take part in the forthcoming match against Galatasaray on the following Wednesday. Nevertheless, he will be allowed to participate in United’s last game against Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on December 12th.
Thankfully, Rashford’s punishment turned out to be less harsh than anticipated. UEFA has made the decision not to impose an additional one-game suspension for his challenge on Elias Jelert during the thrilling 4-3 loss to FC Copenhagen. At the moment Rashford left the field, the Red Devils were ahead 2-0 and seemed to be smoothly heading towards victory, with Rasmus Hojlund’s two goals separating the two teams. However, a goal from Mohamed Elyounoussi and a Diogo Goncalves penalty erased United’s lead before halftime. Bruno Fernandes managed to regain the lead for United with a penalty kick after the break, but Lukas Lerager and Roony Bardghji secured a remarkable triumph for the Danish team. United’s poor performance in the Champions League so far, with only three points from four matches, has put them in a critical situation. Their upcoming match in Istanbul is of utmost importance as a defeat would effectively eliminate their chances of progressing to the last 16. This makes the outcome of the Bayern match less significant. Erik ten Hag, the manager of United, fully understands the significance of the upcoming match and is currently focusing on their Premier League game against Everton on Sunday. Everton, who are still dealing with the consequences of their 10-point deduction, will be a formidable opponent.
Unfortunately, Ten Hag will not have the services of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, Lisandro Martinez, and Tyrell Malacia for their trip to Merseyside. Nevertheless, he has been given a positive boost with the comeback of Luke Shaw and the reassurance that Andre Onana is ready to participate, despite suffering a minor injury while representing Cameroon in international duty.
As they make their way to Goodison Park, United’s objective is to clinch their third successive win in the Premier League. Their previous two matches against Luton and Fulham resulted in 1-0 victories, respectively. These outcomes have aided United in ascending to the sixth position in the standings, having gathered a total of 21 points from 12 games played.