Wilfried Zaha comes back to haunt Man Utd again with Champions League heroics
Wilfried Zaha made a huge impact off the bench for Galatasaray in their Champions League clash against FC Copenhagen to put Manchester United bottom of their group.
The Turkish giants had endured a miserable first hour against the Danish champions, who took a two-goal lead with Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves scoring either side of the break. Trailing by two goals, summer signing Zaha was then introduced into the fray.
The home side were given hope when Elias Jelert was sent off in the 73rd minute for two bookable offences before Sacha Boey pulled a goal back. The former Palace winger then produced a typical bit of trickery on the wing before playing an inviting cross for Tete to head home the equaliser.
Coupled with United’s 4-3 loss at Bayern, that condemned Erik ten Hag’s side to the foot of the formative Group A standings. United will be hoping to turn things around quickly as they host Galatasaray next before a double-header against Copenhagen.
Indeed, it could be argued that United were the big winners from Gala’s draw against Copenhagen as it meant that neither side were able to claim the three points and – with Bayern strong favourites to win the group – boosted the chances of the Red Devils progressing.
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Zaha, a summer arrival from Crystal Palace, did not feature in a star-studded Galatasaray attack that started the game with Dries Mertens, Hakim Ziyech, Kerem Akturkoglu and Mauro Icardi all included in Okan Buruk’s side – who have made several eye-catching signings in recent seasons.
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Zaha impressed in his cameo appearance for Galatasaray vs Copenhagen (Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)Premier League fans will also be familiar with former Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira and wing-back Angelino, once of Manchester City, while goalscorer Tete spent last season on loan at Leicester and Tanguy Ndombele, on loan from Tottenham, also were substitutions who were introduced.
Zaha, who had a forgettable spell at Old Trafford between 2013 and 2015, posted on social media after the match: “Amazing comeback from the team today. We keep pushing forward together!!”
It is not the first time Zaha has haunted United, with the Ivory Coast star providing many memorable moments against the Red Devils during his spell with Palace. Indeed, three years ago the winger scored twice at Old Trafford to secure a memorable 3-1 win for the south Londoners.
The 30-year-old penned a three-year deal with Galatasaray this summer after rejecting a £200,000-a-week offer to stay at Selhurst Park while also saying no to the possibility of moving to Saudi Arabia – due to his desire to play in the Champions League.
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