Manchester United take on Galatasaray tonight in the Champions League.
It’s a fixture that brings back memories, as UWS editor Andy Mitten documented brilliantly for The Athletic, going back 30-years to United’s ‘Welcome to Hell’ trip.
There has also been some links between the clubs in recent years. For instance, Juan Mata won the Super Lig during his time at Galatasaray and Wilfried Zaha left Crystal Palace for the Turkish champions this summer.
Mata left Galatasaray in the summer before joining Vissel Jobe in Japan.
Speaking about our opponents tonight, Mata has warned United not to underestimate Galatasaray when we can’t afford to underestimate any team at the moment. The Reds are searching for their first win in the Champions League after losing our opening match to Bayern Munich in Bavaria.
“When I saw the draw and this game, I was like ‘Oh, I wish I was there to experience coming back to Old Trafford with Galatasaray,” Mata told the club’s official matchday programme.
“But I was so happy because I told my friends in Turkey that they will experience something unique, which is playing in a legendary place like Old Trafford.
“I’m really looking forward to hearing what they say after the game about how they felt playing there, about the energy of the place. And to my United friends I will tell them that Galatasaray are going to put up a fight.
“They’re a good team and a great squad, and if you go through the squad player by player, there are a lot of important players coming there from important leagues this season.”
Galatasaray go into Tuesday night’s game unbeaten in 20 games across all competitions, but they had to score twice late on to draw 2-2 with Copenhagen in their Champions League opener.
Mata went on to explain how difficult it has been to keep up with United while living in Japan, adding: “Watching United is not easy with the time difference. Sometimes I wake up here in the morning and realise there was a Champions League match the night before because I’ve lost track of days and time zones!
“I will definitely try to watch this game, and of course I keep in touch with a lot of people at the club.
“United will always feel like home for me. I speak a lot with Bruno [Fernandes] especially and I’m always following the club and hoping for a great season for them, and for more good football and trophies.
“I know the start hasn’t been easy but hopefully things will be better from now, and I’m sure it will because the squad is really good.
“Hopefully it’s a great game tonight and if I cannot watch it live, I will watch it afterwards, because it’s very special for me to see such important teams in my career facing each other. I’ll be watching from quite a far distance away, but I’ll be there in spirit!”
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