Group D Wrap: Arsenal halted by Anderlecht, Galatasaray concede four again [divider]
Galatasaray lost 4-1 against Borussia Dortmund on Match Day 4 in the Champions League Group D.
Cesare Prandelli pulled off another surprise lineup playing a 4-1-3-2 with Umut Bulut starting upfront alongside Wesley Sneijder who returned to the starting XI.
Prandelli went for a more defensive setup with Felipe Melo sitting in front of the back four and Dzemaili, Altıntop and Selçuk İnan tasked with breaking up Dortmund’s attacks.
Galatasaray started well but looked struggled to deal with set-pieces.
Sokratis hit the cross-bar from a corner on 25 minutes but the Lions managed to keep Dortmund quiet until a lapse in concentration allowed Reus to open the scoring on 39 minutes.
The team fell apart in the second half and were not helped by the fans. Galatasaray fans threw a flare onto the pitch following a corner being awarded to Dortmund on 52 minutes.
The game was briefly halted but Galatasaray lost concentration with all the off the field theatrics and fell asleep from the resulting corner.
This time Sokratis got his name on the scoresheet with another powerful header.
Galatasaray briefly got back into the game when Hakan Balta scored a header on 69 minutes – the first goal Dortmund have conceded in the Champions League this season – but any dreams of a comeback were soon put to rest.
The introduction of Immobile proved decisive as he scored the third goal taking advantage of yet more awful defending from Galatasaray before seeing his cross being put in the back of the net by Semih Kaya for an own goal.
Galatasaray have now conceded 12 goals in their last three Champions League games. No other team in the competition has conceded more than the Lions – 13 goals.
The loss saw Galatasaray drop into last place in Group D on one points.
In the other Group D game Anderlecht made a late comeback to deny Arsenal back-to-back Champions League wins.
First-half goals from Mikel Arteta and Alexis Sanchez gave Arsenal a comfortable lead and the game looked out of sight when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made it 3-0.
However, Anthony Vanden Borre struck twice to score a brace and Mitrovich equalised in the last minute to give Anderlecht an unlikely point.
The draw kept Arsenal in second place on 7 points while Anderlecht overtook Galatasaray to move into third place with two points.