There seems to be no end to Manchester United’s woes as it took a turn for the worse as Istanbul Basaksehir crushed them 2-1 in their Champions League clash. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s boys turned out shambolic.
Although United travelled to Turkey on a winning note after two impressive victories over Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, they found themselves two down inside 40 minutes as strikes from Demba Ba and Edin Visca capitalised on a defensive horror show. An annoyed Solskjaer labelled it as “unforgivable”.
With the defeat, United became the first English club to lose this season in the competition, while Newcomers Basaksehir didn’t have a Champions League point or a goal to their name before kick-off. However, with a consistent and resilient performance earned them a fantastic win in the Champions League.
United seemed to be effectively carrying out their game plan early in the game with Bruno Fernandes rifling a volley wide and Luke Shaw whistling a shot past the post inside 10 minutes. However, it all unravelled for Solskjaer’s side in farcical circumstances before the quarter-hour mark.
In no time United’s frailties got exposed.
Anthony Martial’s instinctive header pulled one back before the break but it failed to inspire a second-half comeback, with a stunning stoppage-time goal-line clearance from Alexandru Epureanu denying United a point at the death.
Eventually, Manchester United’s 10-game away winning run ended in Istanbul. Anthony Martial header went in vain as Demba Ba and Edin Visca sealed a famous first Champions League win for Turkish champions.
