Manchester United are in the fourth round of the League Cup. Coach Erik ten Hag’s team was too strong for Crystal Palace (3-0) in front of their own audience. Donny van de Beek was allowed to come on and made his first minutes in almost nine months.
United, which like most top clubs in the League Cup with a refined B team, took a 2-0 lead within half an hour thanks to Alejandro Garnacho and Casemiro. Anthony Martial scored in the second half.
Van de Beek came on as a substitute twenty minutes before the end. It was the first time since January 3 of this year, when he played in the Premier League match against Bournemouth, that Ten Hag was called upon again. The former Ajax player seemed to be on the verge of leaving a few times this summer, but a transfer ultimately did not happen.
Sofyan Amrabat made his debut in the starting line-up and made an excellent impression. The former Feyenoord player made the switch from Fiorentina this summer for 30 million euros, but had to make do with one appearance in the Premier League for the time being.
United and Crystal Palace meet again in Manchester on Saturday for a Premier League clash.
Bayern continues to convert
In Germany, Bayern Munich qualified quite easily for the second round of the cup tournament. The national champion won the away match against SC Preußen Münster (0-4), which plays in the third level of Germany.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Konrad Laimer, Frans Krätzig and Mathys Tel scored the goals for Bayern, which did not play in the strongest possible composition. Harry Kane remained on the bench for the entire game. Noussair Mazraoui did have a starting place. Matthijs de Ligt was missing due to a minor knee injury.
The match was interrupted for a few minutes after about half an hour because Bayern Munich fans threw tennis balls onto the field. They held a protest because they do not agree that they should only now play in the first round of the cup tournament. Bayern played against RB Leipzig for the Supercup while the other teams played their match in the first round of the cup tournament.
Juventus second in Serie A
In Italy, Juventus did well by climbing to second place in Serie A. The club from Turin won 1-0 against Lecce in front of its own audience, which had not yet lost in the competition this season.
Juventus’ victory was deserved. Federico Chiesa came closest to scoring before halftime. The attacker, who played his hundredth game for ‘Juve’, shot the ball narrowly wide of the post. Arek Milik was successful in the second half. The Pole tapped in from close range at the far post in the 57th minute on a pass from Adrien Rabiot.
Lecce ended the game with ten men after a red card in injury time for substitute Mohamed Kaba, who received two yellow cards in a short time.
Juventus has 13 points after six matches. Lecce is now fourth with 11 points.
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