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Manchester United’s Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after Erik ten Hag’s men imploded in a chaotic, thrill-a-minute 3-3 draw on an ear-splitting night at Galatasaray. Having lost three of their four Group A fixtures, the Red Devils knew defeat in Istanbul would extinguish their hopes of reaching the knockout phase with a game to spare. United avoided a loss but blew a two-goal lead on in an incredible night in Istanbul, meaning their knockout hopes will be over if Copenhagen beat Bayern Munich in Wednesday’s late fixtures. This was a wild, helter-skelter encounter befitting of a Champions League campaign punctuated by goals, madness and mistakes. A rocking Rams Park witnessed a dream United start to a breathless match, with Alejandro Garnacho completing a fine team move before Bruno Fernandes rocketed the visitors further ahead in the 18th minute. Hakim Ziyech’s free-kick all too easily beat Andre Onana to give Galatasaray hope, which Scott McTominay appeared to extinguish when scoring in the 55th minute. But United, not for the first time in Group A, unravelled as Onana’s howler allowed Ziyech to score another free-kick before substitute Kerem Akturkoglu levelled with a scorcher. Fernandes hit the post from distance and Facundo Pellistri somehow failed to score as the visitors laid siege to Galatasaray’s goal, with the draw leaving them bottom of Group A and facing an early Champions League exit. There had been doubts whether the match would go ahead due to the torrential rain that battered Istanbul throughout the day, but Uefa gave it the green light after numerous checks. ‘Welcome to Hell’ read the giant tifo that greeted the players as they emerged from the tunnel on an evening when United had initially looked unfazed. Rasmus Hojlund was just stopped from meeting a Garnacho cross and the teenager added to Sunday’s wonder goal at Everton in the 11th minute. Great build-up play ended with Fernandes playing across for the 19-year-old to lash past Fernando Muslera at the near post. Garnacho celebrated in front of the home support as he and team-mates were pelted by objects from stands. Galatasaray’s frustration soon grew in a penalty box melee that saw Onana save from a corner, Harry Maguire clear off the line and McTominay survive a handball appeal. United quickly capitalised by going further ahead in style. Fernandes collected a pass inside and was given space to continue forwards, before unleashing a 25-yard piledriver that flew into the top left-hand corner. United sought a third but a Hojlund cutback was just too strong for Luke Shaw and soon their lead was reduced. Fernandes conceded a free-kick on the edge of the box and Ziyech’s low shot went through the wall and beat Onana, who was punished for gambling where the strike would go. The winger whipped over a strike as he looked to add to his 29th-minute goal and Maguire soon blocked a Wilfried Zaha attempt. United were wobbling and a delayed offside flag denied Mauro Icardi – the hero of Galatasaray’s 3-2 win at Old Trafford – an equaliser having been put behind and beating Onana two minutes before the break. Play continued in a similarly hectic fashion after the interval but, as thunder and lightning filled the sky, McTominay appeared to have stopped a storm brewing on the pitch. Aaron Wan-Bissaka hit a low, first-time cross from the right and the Scotland international turned home at the near post. But United do not do things the easy way. Onana’s positioning for the first goal was questionable and the second was hard to compute as Ziyech’s free-kick somehow beat him in the 62nd minute. The United goalkeeper denied Akturkoglu as Cimbom looked for an equaliser the substitute would provide in the 71st minute. The 25-year-old was played through and held firm under pressure to lash past Onana at his near post in spectacular fashion. A ridiculous back and forth continued to a fervent backdrop. Garnacho bent just wide and McTominay fizzed narrowly off target a minute later. Galatasaray were leaving gaping holes but United were failing to punish them, with Pellistri failing before Zaha wasted a great chance at the other end. Fernandes hit the post from 25 yards and Pellistri somehow failed to turn home after a Diogo Dalot cross fell kindly to him. The inability to capitalise summed up United’s night and this Champions League campaign. Read More Champions League: What do Man United, Arsenal and Newcastle need to reach last 16? Man United’s teen sensation who could offer salvation - and it’s not Garnacho Why Bruno Fernandes is the only choice as Man Utd captain Galatasaray vs Man Utd LIVE: Champions League result and reaction Erik Ten Hag outlines how ‘calm’ Man Utd can negotiate Istanbul atmosphere Bruno Fernandes excited for ‘amazing’ atmosphere at Galatasaray

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Lauren Hemp didn’t need to look; she already had the picture in her head. After 86 minutes of being everywhere for England, Hemp found another burst to turn away from Katrina Gorry and ease into the space, gliding to the left to create room on the right. As Australia backed off, Hemp opened up the angle and reversed the ball back to Alessia Russo – her target all along. Then came the finish, low, controlled, a clinical way to round off a ruthless performance on a gutsy night. Cool, calm and collected, it booked England’s place in the World Cup final and summed up how they beat Australia. “Incredible finish, incredible pass,” Sarina Wiegman said. For the second match in a row, her front two were both on the scoresheet, Hemp and Russo on target in the semi-finals, just as they were in the quarter-finals, just as Wiegman had planned. Except, of course, that no one would have planned for this, in a tournament where rarely anything has gone to script for England and they have been forced to adapt. The Lionesses came into the World Cup with seven forwards and they will likely start Sunday’s final with only two in attacking positions; Hemp and Russo stand as their unlikely combination. But it is a partnership that is a game away from winning the World Cup, and who have come to represent the qualities of this England team: one that battles and digs in from the front, but that has the quality to deliver when it counts. Hemp has gone from England’s dynamic winger to a roaming threat in a team that doesn’t play with wide forwards, and who instead offers so much more, covering the work of two positions. “She is just a nuisance,” said Ella Toone. “A nightmare to play against.” Hemp saved her best performance of the World Cup for the semi-finals and led the way to show what England needed as they faced the hosts and an entire nation in Sydney, on what was their biggest night in a generation. “I feel really fearless at the moment,” the 23-year-old said. “I’ve taken up a new role, I guess, in the team, running in behind players and getting the ball, creating something. I feel like I’m playing some of my best football.” Hemp has always been an attacker who has played with a mental picture of what is around her and an understanding of where defenders are. Hemp has always had the pace to hurt teams, the acceleration to just glide away, but Wiegman’s decision to bring the Man City forward inside the touchlines has made her threat more consistent. Unlike the Euros last summer, teams are not able to double-mark her. It has also brought her closer to Russo, who started the tournament isolated, a target for crosses swung into the box but who really just wanted to be involved and have the play near her. “They are complimentary in their qualities,” Wiegman said. With Hemp alongside her, Russo has found her position and her confidence, growing into the tournament like England as they have reached the final. The Lionesses, though, are faced with a decision ahead of Spain on Sunday. England’s deadly duo used to be part of their new-look attacking trio, one that could now be reunited against in the World Cup final. Lauren James will be available after serving her two-match suspension for stamping on Nigeria’s Michelle Alozie in the last-16. If that was a moment that threatened not only her, but England’s participation in the tournament, then the fact that James is free to play against Spain is thanks to the spirit and resilience of her teammates, as well as the discretion of Fifa’s disciplinary panel. The Lionesses overcame not only the immense challenge of getting through Nigeria with 10 players but the battles against Colombia and Australia. Nothing has come easy for England at the World Cup and James, through a moment of madness in which she did apologise for, made it harder. James remains a tempting option, however. She is England’s greatest talent, a player who lit up the group stages with her two-goal, three-assist display against China, shining in a system that was designed and revolved around her in the No 10 position. Wiegman, though, has since been made to adapt, and the attacking triangle of James, Hemp and Russo has shifted to the midfield trio of Ella Toone, Keira Walsh and Georgia Stanway. Against Spain, the fixture in world football where individual battles in midfield are the most important, Wiegman is unlikely to move away from the formula that is working for this England team. Nor should she. After a difficult tournament, Toone had her moment against Australia, scoring another big-game goal for the Lionesses. It would be extremely harsh to drop her now, while having James as an impact substitute alongside Chloe Kelly is an excellent option for Wiegman to have. So too, suddenly, is the front two. “This team has ruthlessness,” Wiegman said, and it’s a spirit led from the front. Read More England finally reach the world’s greatest stage — and that is worth celebrating How England deployed dark arts and cool heads to silence Australian noise With one sublime pass, the Lionesses have unlocked the door to football Narnia

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England defender Alex Greenwood enjoys channelling her younger self at the colouring-in station, while Lauren Hemp, Niamh Charles and Keira Walsh prefer playing table tennis in the swanky Australian hotel which will be the Lionesses’ base for the remainder of the World Cup. The European champions’ private wing of the Crowne Plaza in the coastal New South Wales town of Terrigal is the product of more than 18 months of Football Association planning, including extensive consultation with players to create an area they hope will provide a “home from home” and lead to better performances on the pitch. The Lionesses were an integral part of the design, from picking the inspirational quotes on the walls to requesting the wide range of activities on offer, including arcade games, a library, darts, and a popular coffee station serving up brews emblazoned with custom images in the foam. By midday on Wednesday, baristas estimated they had served up about 40 cups. Greenwood, who alongside Lucy Bronze is playing in a third consecutive World Cup, said: “We have got an amazing base camp. “A lot of people are doing colouring in and (doing) jigsaws. We’ve got an unbelievable set-up with a games room. The younger ones play a bit more games than the older ones. It’s a relaxed camp. The staff make it really relaxed and the experienced players help the younger ones. There’s no concern there. “I’m actually loving colouring in at the moment. I’ve found my inner-child Alex again! Coffees and walks have been my go-to at the minute. I’m colouring in all kinds, whatever I can get my hands on. I’m running out of spaces now.” In a tribute to team history, rooms are named after former Lionesses, including Mary Phillip, Rachel Yankey, Ellen White and ‘The Scott’ relaxation room, which former midfielder Jill joked she hoped is named after her and not defender-turned-BBC pundit Alex. The Lionesses had a similar base at the Lensbury Resort in Teddington during Euro 2022. The FA picked up on the positive impact that retreat had on England’s triumphant campaign and were keen to recreate a similar environment for a tournament that will see them hop between three cities in the world’s sixth largest country during their quest for a maiden global title. Kay Cossington, women’s technical director at the FA, said: “We learned so much from the Lensbury…it was the home-from-home feel, the different activities, the relaxation area, the fact that everything was in such close proximity. “Coming to a tournament this size and scale in a country this big, we wanted to try and make the tournament as small as we could in terms of the logistics and the travel to help the loading. “You can imagine how much kit and equipment gets shifted from venue to venue. It was really nice for us to land here and know that, although we travel to games, this is now where we come back to. This is our base. This is our home in Australia. “We choose from a performance lens, but equally the players have got to feel that it’s right for them as well. Thankfully we are actually joined with what the need is (for them) because it’s a performance reason.” The first time the FA spoke with FIFA about their plans was in December 2021. Six months later, Cossington and Lionesses general manager Anja van Ginhoven visited about 23 hotels and 18 training grounds in 11 days. When the Lionesses were drawn in Group D, which will see them play matches in Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide during the group stage, they were ready to submit the Crowne Plaza and nearby palm tree-lined Central Coast Stadium to FIFA as their first choice, a decision ultimately made by England boss Sarina Wiegman after extensive meetings with her team. Everything from the player pictures splashed on the wall to the three lions etched in glass above the private entrance, not to mention the decked-out studio where Jill Scott hosts Lionesses: Down Under, is a far cry from 2005, when England hosted the European Championships for the first time. Cossington added: “We never had anything like this. We did the best we could with the resources we had at the time. You were printing things off yourself and putting them on doors, the banners, the pop-ups, you’d carry them around with you. “It is night and day. I’ve seen it grow and evolve incredibly, but this I truly feel has gone another step another level another mile and I think that’s again testimony to how the game has grown.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live England ratings as Mary Earps and Chloe Kelly stand out in lacklustre opener Australia captain Pat Cummins says ‘the job’s not done’ ahead of final Test Ben Stokes has no worries over James Anderson in fifth Ashes Test

Erik ten Hag is convinced “it is only a matter of time” until Manchester United show their “true selves” after a poor start to the campaign was compounded in the Manchester derby. Sunday’s 3-0 home humbling at the hands of neighbours Manchester City provided the exclamation mark on a difficult start to the Dutchman’s second season in the hotseat. United were outclassed and outthought for the most part at Old Trafford, where Ten Hag’s men will attempt to bounce back in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash against Newcastle. “At Manchester United, every game involves high stakes,” the Red Devils boss said ahead of the repeat of last season’s Carabao Cup final. “Every single day, there is pressure on everybody involved with this club, but those demands and standards are a challenge which we must always meet head-on. “While this has not been the start to the season that we had all hoped for, I am certain that we have the talent and attitude as a collective to move in the right direction. “I believe that it is only a matter of time before we are showing our true selves. It will come, I am certain.” Ten Hag’s comments came in his manager’s notes for Wednesday’s edition of the matchday programme, United Review. Emotions will have been raw when producing the column in the aftermath of the City defeat but the Red Devils boss is only focused on improved performances and results. “There is no point in feeling sorry for ourselves at this moment in time,” Ten Hag said. “Nobody at this club enjoys defeat, particularly in a Manchester derby like last Sunday, but everything we have achieved together so far has been built on looking forward, which means we have to move on quickly from what happens, whether it is positive or negative. “We have never spent too long enjoying our victories, so we will not spend too much time thinking about our losses. We must always look forward, together. “I continue to believe in these players and am confident we will improve after a difficult start to the season. “On Sunday, in the first half particularly, we showed good defensive discipline and we created opportunities to counter-attack, but we were unable to capitalise on those chances at decisive times in the game. “Important moments went against us and we were once again reminded that any mistake is punished at the highest level. “Before the derby, we won three games in a row and demonstrated our character on each occasion, so we have developed in recent weeks. “We are also gradually getting some players back from injury, which gives us more options and allows us to select players in their natural positions.” Injuries have been a key mitigating factor in United’s shaky start, with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Amad Diallo ruled out of the Manchester derby. Four of those played key roles in February’s Carabao Cup triumph against Newcastle – a day that has so far proven the high point of Ten Hag’s reign, rather than the catalyst for further success. “As we welcome Eddie Howe and Newcastle United to Old Trafford, our focus moves back to the Carabao Cup and a reminder of how well we did to win this competition last season,” Ten Hag said “Our game management throughout that cup run, especially in the final against Newcastle, showed our ability to rise to big occasions – and tonight is definitely another big occasion for us. “We always want to do as well as we possibly can in every competition we enter. “We know how good it feels to lift this trophy and, as holders, we want to get back to Wembley Stadium again this season and defend the Carabao Cup.” Read More Carlos Alcaraz stunned by Roman Safiullin at Paris Masters Alex Greenwood suffers head injury in England’s clash with Belgium We’re better than that – Dawid Malan deflects England heat from Matthew Mott Sir Bobby Charlton funeral announced for November 13 Inquiry into ice hockey player’s death will take some time, police say Colombian police continue search for Luis Diaz’s kidnapped father

Harry Kane’s move to Bayern Munich makes him the latest Englishman to ply his trade in the Bundesliga. Only a handful of the small group which has gone to Germany have been truly successful but the England captain will be looking to add his name to that list. Here the PA news agency looks at those who impressed for Bundesliga sides. Kevin Keegan, Hamburg 1977-80 Keegan set the gold standard. Having made his intention to leave Liverpool clear the forward’s £500,000 transfer set a new British record and almost doubled the German mark. His choice of a club which had not finished higher than sixth in two decades was something of a surprise but Hamburg paid him more than five times his salary. There were rewarded though as Keegan helped them win the title in his second season and reach the European Cup final in the next, winning two European footballer of the year awards. Tony Woodcock (Cologne 1979-82 and 1986-88, Fortuna Cologne 1988-90) After being part of the side which won Nottingham Forest’s first European Cup in 1979 Woodcock moved to Cologne for £600,000 after taking advice from Keegan despite interest from Manchester United. He scored 34 goals in just over 100 appearances before returning to England with Arsenal in 1982. Woodcock returned to Cologne four years later before retiring after a brief spell at Fortuna. Owen Hargreaves (Bayern Munich 200-07) Born in Canada to British parents, Hargreaves moved to Bayern from Calgary Foothills as a 16-year-old. He made his first-team debut in 2000 and went on to make over 200 appearances, winning four Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and three German Cups before moving to Manchester United. Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund 2017-21) Sancho left Manchester City for Dortmund as a 17-year-old for an £8m fee. He won the German Cup and Supercup and, aged 18 years and 336 days, broke Lukas Podolski’s record for the youngest player to score nine Bundesliga goals. He made 136 appearances, scoring 49 goals before returning to England to join Manchester United. Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund 2020-23) Bellingham became the most expensive 17-year-old in history when he moved from Birmingham for an initial £25m. His form in Germany earned him a senior England call up in 2020 when he became the third-youngest England international after Theo Walcott and Wayne Rooney. Consistency at club level and stand-out performances at the 2021 World Cup helped him secure an £88m move to Real Madrid this summer. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Harry Kane’s highs and lows at Tottenham as he signs with Bayern Munich Where Harry Kane’s big-money move stands in British football history Harry Kane completes £100million move to Bayern Munich