Thirty years after Manchester United left Galatasaray with their Champions League hopes in tatters on one of the most notorious nights in the club\u2019s history, they will return to \u2018hell\u2019 for another do-or-die clash with the Turkish team.<\/p>\n
Manchester United\u00a0sit bottom of Champions League Group A<\/strong>\u00a0and will be\u00a0eliminated\u00a0<\/strong>if they lose to\u00a0Galatasaray\u00a0<\/strong>in their penultimate fixture on Wednesday. It is\u00a0a predicament<\/strong>\u00a0that brings back painful memories for United players and fans who ran the gauntlet of hate in Istanbul\u00a0back in 1993<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Finally crowned English champions the previous season,\u00a0United\u00a0<\/strong>were\u00a0confident\u00a0<\/strong>of a long run\u00a0in their first European Cup campaign since 1969.<\/p>\n A surprise 3-3 draw<\/strong>\u00a0against\u00a0Galatasaray\u00a0<\/strong>in the second round first leg at Old Trafford put that ambition in peril, but even then United were\u00a0not fully aware of the cauldron<\/strong>\u00a0that awaited them in Turkey.<\/p>\n United\u00a0<\/strong>were\u00a0greeted\u00a0<\/strong>at the airport by thousands of Galatasaray fans, one waving the infamous banner that said \u2018Welcome to Hell<\/strong>\u2018, while others threw missiles and menacingly drew their fingers across their throats.<\/p>\n Alex Ferguson<\/strong>, United\u2019s manager at the time, described the intimidation as being \u201cexposed to as much hostility and harassment I have ever known<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n The nightmare was\u00a0only just beginning as United<\/strong>, clearly unsettled by the volcanic atmosphere in the Ali Sami Yen Stadium,\u00a0failed to get the result they needed<\/strong>.\u00a0Galatasaray\u00a0held on for the draw,\u00a0knocking out United on away goals<\/strong>\u00a0and sparking an appropriately chaotic finale.<\/p>\n United\u2019s star striker\u00a0Eric Cantona<\/strong>\u00a0was\u00a0attacked\u00a0<\/strong>by a Turkish police officer wielding a truncheon after being sent off following the final whistle.<\/p>\n When United midfielder\u00a0Bryan Robson<\/strong>\u00a0tried to come to Cantona\u2019s rescue, he was\u00a0left with six stitches in a cut arm<\/strong>\u00a0after being thrown down concrete steps that led to the dressing room.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hatred was\u00a0unbelievable<\/strong>. Even the police started to pick fights with us. I remember one of the Old Bill\u00a0just smashing Eric on the head<\/strong>,\u201d United midfielder Paul Ince said.<\/p>\n Ince\u2019s teammate\u00a0Gary Pallister<\/strong>\u00a0said the atmosphere in United\u2019s matches at Anfield, home of their arch rivals Liverpool,\u00a0seemed like \u201ca tea party\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0in comparison to the vitriol they endured at Galatasaray.<\/p>\n United\u2019s team bus was\u00a0bombarded with bricks and rocks on the way out of the stadium<\/strong>, prompting the shell-shocked Ferguson to exclaim: \u201cI never want to go back there again<\/strong>\u201c.<\/p>\n But he had to do exactly that a year later for\u00a0a damaging 0-0 draw<\/strong>\u00a0that played a role in United\u2019s failure to advance from the Champions League group stage.<\/p>\n Galatasaray\u00a0<\/strong>has been\u00a0a house of horrors for United<\/strong>, who have failed to win any of their three visits,\u00a0losing their most recent encounter there 1-0 in<\/strong>\u00a0the 2012-13 Champions League group stage.<\/p>\n Although the Ali Sami Yen Stadium closed in 2010, a visit to the banks of the Bosphorus remains\u00a0one of the toughest assignments<\/strong>\u00a0in European football.<\/p>\n There is\u00a0little doubt Galatasaray\u2019s fans<\/strong>\u00a0will be able to replicate the wall of sound that greeted United three decades ago when they meet at the 52,600-capacity RAMS Park on Wednesday.<\/p>\n Erik ten Hag\u2019s side can\u00a0take heart from the way they survived a hostile atmosphere<\/strong>\u00a0at Goodison Park to beat Everton 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.<\/p>\n Visits to Merseyside are always\u00a0volatile occasions for United<\/strong>\u00a0and Everton\u2019s recent 10-point deduction for financial breaches made their fans even\u00a0more raucous than usual<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But\u00a0Alejandro Garnacho\u2019s stunning overhead kick\u00a0in the opening minutes was the perfect way to take the sting out of the occasion.\u00a0United eased to their second successive victory<\/strong>, keeping Ten Hag\u2019s critics\u00a0at bay<\/strong>\u00a0after a difficult spell for the under-fire Dutchman.<\/p>\n Emerging unscathed from\u00a0their latest visit to the Galatasaray inferno<\/strong>\u00a0would be another significant step in the right direction for Ten Hag and\u00a0his troubled team<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\u2018The hatred was unbelievable\u2019<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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