Rasmus Hojlund was on the verge of completing a hat-trick and giving Manchester United a 3-0 lead, thirty minutes into the ridiculous football game.

There were two comebacks from Copenhagen, two controversial penalties, one red card, one pro-Palestinian pitch invader, and a lengthy delay due to a medical emergency.

And after all the chaos, Manchester United found themselves at the bottom of their Champions League group, facing elimination. They now must defeat either Galatasaray in Istanbul or Harry Kane’s rampant Bayern Munich to have any chance of making it to the knockout stage.

The Danish fans had promised a “Welcome to the Theatre of Nightmares” with a giant banner unfurled before kick-off. In a stadium where Hans Christian Andersen used to spin tall tales, few could have imagined a story as fanciful as this one.

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