UEFA Champions League
FERNANDES BAGS BRACE AS MANCHESTER UNITED SINK BASAKSEHIR
Manchester United avenged their humbling Champions League defeat against Istanbul Basaksehir as Bruno Fernandes scored twice in a 4-1 rout of the Turkish champions on Tuesday (Nov 24).
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side crashed to a shock 2-1 loss at the hands of the Group H outsiders in Istanbul earlier in November.
But there was never any chance of another upset as United ran Basaksehir ragged at Old Trafford.
Fernandes was the catalyst with a stunning long-range opener early in the first half.
He doubled the lead before passing up a hat-trick chance when he allowed Marcus Rashford to convert the penalty that brought United’s third goal before half-time.
Basaksehir’s Deniz Turuc netted a fine free-kick but, after a late United wobble, Daniel James struck in the final moments to seal the points.
United’s third win from four group matches means one point from their last two games against Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig would secure their place in the last 16.
United’s loss in Istanbul had raised serious questions about Solskjaer’s ability to hold onto his job.
But successive Premier League wins against Everton and West Brom, followed by this emphatic success, have eased the pressure on Solskjaer a little.
Solskjaer named Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani in the starting line-up for the first time since his signing in October.
With Paul Pogba still sidelined by a swollen ankle, there was a rare start for Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek.
Both Cavani, who has scored once in seven appearances for United, and van de Beek did their chances of a more regular action no harm with solid displays, but it was Fernandes and Rashford who stole the show.
Rampant United
Rashford nearly gave United the perfect start in the second minute when he slalomed through the Basaksehir defence with a superb run, but couldn’t find the power in his shot to beat Istanbul keeper Mert Gunok.
United had torn into their overwhelmed visitors and they deservedly took the lead in the seventh minute.
When Alex Telles’ corner was only cleared to the edge of the area, Fernandes let it bounce before unleashing a thunderous strike that flashed into the roof of the net.
It was the Portugal midfielder’s eighth goal of the season and his second in successive games.
Rampant United doubled their lead in the 19th minute with a gift from Gunok.
Telles’ cross should have been easy for Gunok, but he seemed distracted by Cavani’s half-hearted attempt to reach it and dropped the ball to Fernandes, who had the simple task of slotting into the empty net.
Fernandes’ impact on United has been huge since he arriving from Sporting Lisbon in January, the 26-year-old now directly involved in 34 goals in 35 games in all competitions for United.
United were in total control and the third goal came courtesy of Rashford’s electric pace in the 36th minute.
Sprinting onto Victor Lindelof’s long pass, Rashford surged into the Basaksehir area before being barged over by Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo.
Fernandes was on a hat-trick and had scored a penalty against West Brom on Saturday.
He let Rashford take the penalty instead this time and the England forward sent Gunok the wrong way for his fifth Champions League goal in four games this season.
Gunok raced off his line to deny Fernandes his treble just before the break.
After United lost Lindelof to injury at half-time, it was no surprise Solskjaer took off Fernandes and Rashford to protect his stars with half an hour left.
United’s energy dipped as a result of those changes and Basaksehir got one back in the 75th minute when Turuc’s superb free-kick went over the line despite De Gea’s attempt to claw it out.
James finished off Mason Greenwood’s pass in stoppage-time for his first United goal since March.
-AFP
UEFA Champions League
Osimhen and Aubameyang: Africa’s First Men of the Match in 2025/26 Champions League
The Champions League has barely started and already African fans have something to be proud of.
Two of the continent’s biggest names, Victor Osimhen from Nigeria and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Gabon, have become the first African players this season to be named Man of the Match.
For Osimhen, it was a night to remember in Istanbul. Galatasaray were up against Liverpool, a team with a European pedigree and needed someone to step up. Osimhen did just that.
His goal gave Galatasaray a 1-0 win but it was more than just the goal. His energy and how he kept Liverpool’s defenders on their toes all night made him the best player on the pitch.
So his winning of the UEFA Man of the Match award. Galatasaray fans had proof they have a striker who can change games at the highest level.
Meanwhile, on the same night in Marseille, Aubameyang was showing why he has been Africa’s most reliable goal scorer for over a decade.
At 36, some wondered if he still had it on nights like this. His answer was a thunderous “YES.”
Marseille tore Ajax apart in a 4–0 demolition that saw Aubameyang seal his stature as the orchestrator and heartbeat of the French club’s attack.
His movement, his composure and his leadership stood out. So much so that he too was rightfully awarded the Man of the Match.
The fact that these two happened on the same night made it even more special for African football fans.
Osimhen represents the new generation: quick, hungry and with still a few years ahead to make history.
Aubameyang is the veteran still out there to prove – even though he really has nothing to prove anymore – that experience and class don’t fade easily.
Together, they gave African football fans a double reason to smile.
For Nigeria and Gabon, these awards are more than individual trophies. They are ultimately a reminder of how much African players contribute to the Champions League season in, season out.
And the tournament is still in its early stages. So there’s every chance more players from the continent will follow in their footsteps before the Budapest finale in 2026. Only good omens for the 2025 AFCON that starts in a few months.
-Morocco World News
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In his glory days, Jose Mourinho celebrated dramatic goals from his teams by sprinting down the touchline, sometimes sliding on his knees for extra euphoric effect.
On Tuesday, back at his former club Chelsea as the new coach of Benfica, Mourinho’s most eye-catching intervention was down the touchline again, but this time his run was to urge his team’s fans to stop hurling objects onto the pitch.
Benfica under Mourinho, in his fourth game in charge, were defeated 1-0 by an under-strength Chelsea side in the Champions League after a fist-half Richard Rios own goal.
The self-declared “Special One” was lauded by the home fans with a few choruses of “Jose Mou-rin-ho” in recognition of his successes – three Premier League titles and four other trophies – which no other Chelsea manager has come close to matching.
Mourinho, 62, acknowledged the chants with a gentle wave, got a cheer when he ventured onto the pitch to clear a spare ball and quickly vanished down the tunnel at the final whistle after shaking the hand of Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca.
It was all a far cry from the fervour of 20 years ago when Mourinho – having led Porto to an unlikely Champions League triumph – turned Chelsea into English champions for the first time in 50 years in 2005 and won the title again a year later.
After a collapse of form, Mourinho departed in 2007 but he won the Champions League again, this time with Inter Milan in 2010, knocking out the Londoners on the way to the final.
He went on to manage Real Madrid before returning to Chelsea where he claimed a third English title and then had spells at Manchester United, London side Tottenham Hotspur – an unforgivable move for many Chelsea fans at the time – and Roma.
As the big offers dried up, Mourinho went on to coach Fenerbahce in Turkey where he lasted little more than a year before his return to Portuguese football with Benfica.
Asked after Tuesday’s defeat by Chelsea if he still had the drive of the early days of his career, Mourinho insisted he felt more motivated.
“If I am in a job it’s because I like to put myself on the line every day,” he told reporters. “I am desperate to win the next match.”
Mourinho said he thought Benfica had deserved more from the game. “We started well, we controlled well. I don’t know if I can say big chances but we had chances for sure.”
Chelsea’s Maresca said he was relieved to secure a win – albeit a scrappy one – after two consecutive defeats in the Premier League and a 3-1 loss at Bayern Munich in the his side’s Champions League opener.
“Sometimes you need to learn to win in another way,” he said of Chelsea’s improved defensive performance. “At least we learned how to win a game with a red card.”
Striker Joao Pedro was dismissed for a second yellow card after coming on as a substitute, the third time in four matches that Chelsea have finished with 10 men
-Reuters
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Hosts Eintracht Frankfurt scored four times in 29 minutes to bounce back from a goal down and hammer Galatasaray 5-1 in their Champions League opener on Thursday.
The Turkish sides are without their talismanic striker, Victor Osimhen who was injured while on international duty with Nigeria.
The Turks had hit Frankfurt on the break with Yunus Akgun completing the move from a Leroy Sane assist in the eighth minute. Germany international Sane, who joined from Bayern Munich this season, became the only player in Champions League history to play for four or more clubs and score or assist on his debut for each of them.
Frankfurt, competing for only the second time in the Champions League main round, struggled to break through Galatasaray’s defence until a defensive error from Akgun in the 37th. Ritsu Doan pounced, charged into the box and Davinson Sanchez deflected the Japanese winger’s shot in for an own goal.
The hosts took the lead in first-half stoppage time when 19-year-old Turkey international Can Uzun scored a superb goal on his Champions League debut after fine control and a quick turn in the box. The hosts netted again before halftime with Jonathan Burkardt’s well-timed glancing header putting them 3-1 up.
With the visitors forced to take more risks after the break, Frankfurt found space and Burkardt completed his dream Champions League debut with another header in the 66th for his second goal of the evening. Ansgar Knauff completed the rout in the 75th.
Frankfurt next travel to Atletico Madrid on September 30 when Galatasaray host Liverpool.
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