Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Fenerbahce on Thursday night.
The visitors opened the scoring in the 15th minute. A sweeping move up the pitch eventually fell to Christian Eriksen in the box, and he fired a strike into the Fenerbahce net. Fenerbahce did push for a leveller in the first-half, but were denied by an incredible double save from Andre Onana.
But after the break, they managed to get the goal they were seeking. At the third time of asking, Youssef En-Nesyri connected with a header and managed to beat Onana with the resulting effort.
Former United manager Jose Mourinho would be shown a red card during the second-half after heavily protesting in favour of a penalty for his side. But his team would hold out for a draw.
Here, The Athletic’s experts Carl Anka and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the game.
Where does this draw leave United?
United’s worrying trend of conceding shortly after restarts continued against Fenerbahce. This time, Allan Saint-Maximin drove down the right before his cross found the head of Youssef En Nesyri
The time of goal? 48:36 mins Ten Hag’s response? Substituting Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof for Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro. The switch-up saw United resort to their familiar style of play – for better and worse. Eriksen pulled the strings in the final third, while Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte sat deep. Ugarte had his best performance in a United shirt to date — but he had to be. United’s game plan to bait Fenerbahce’s press before hitting the ball quickly down the wings lacked the extra edge that made the 2-1 victory over Brentford work.
A disappointing performance from Diogo Dalot – who was caught out of position multiple times at right-back – further hampered the team’s fluency on both sides of the ball.
Ten Hag’s men have now not won away from home in Europe since March 2023 (against Real Betis). Five minutes from the end of regular time, and United did not look like conceding a second, but it was also difficult to see how they might score a winner. A late injury to Antony (a 73rd-minute substitute for Marcus Rashford) meant Amad was a late throw of the dice, but United are low in attacking bodies and low in attacking confidence. When the young Ivorian and Eriksen stood over a free-kick with multiple United bodies in the box, there was more hope than expectation that something could come about in ‘Fergie Time’. Eriksen’s set-piece was cleared at the first attempt.
A second red card to Jose Mourinho meant he couldn’t fulfil his duties as a pantomime villain at the full-time whistle, but a 1-1 draw made for another disappointing result in a 2024-25 season that is accumulating them en masse. A third consecutive draw leaves the side in the 20-24 section of the league phase of the competition. They are not “out”, but will have a fight on their hands to rise out of the play-off qualification places and head towards the seeded positions.
Carl Anka
Was Onana’s double save the best of the season?
Onana came to Manchester United’s rescue with around eight minutes left in the first half, just moments after Victor Lindelof’s well-timed tackle blocked an effort from Youssef En Nesyri. The resulting corner was played short and then cleared before Fenerbahce recycled it to Sebastian Szymanski on the left, with miscommunication on United’s end resulting in him receiving the ball in acres of space.
Szymanski whipped in a cross that was flicked on by Dusan Tadic towards En Nesyri, who forced a brilliant diving save from Onana despite the United goalkeeper’s initial movement towards the other direction.
The second ball was hooked back in by Tadic to En Nesyri for another header from point-blank range and this time Onana reacted brilliantly to get his fingertips to the ball and direct it onto the roof of the net.
The brilliant double-save kept United’s lead intact heading into half-time and is right up there with the best saves of the season. The closest challenger this season might be another of Onana’s double-saves, which came against Crystal Palace in the Premier League last month. It was also comparable to David Raya’s fantastic save for Arsenal against Atalanta in the Champions League last month. The Spaniard denied Mateo Retegui from a penalty kick by diving low to his right before getting back on his feet to leap to his left and deny Retegui’s follow-up header.
Regardless of whether it was the save of the season, it was pivotal for United in a game where the margins for error remained low right until the end.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
How did Mazraoui perform as a No 10?
A yellow card suspension meant United were without their captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes, but Ten Hag sprung a surprise by opting for Noussair Mazraoui as his playmaking replacement, rather than Christian Eriksen or Amad Diallo.
“He’s capable of coming there,” was the United manager’s explanation before kick-off.
“He can do a good pressing. Then we can see during the game what is needed. We can go with him maybe in another position, and we can put a more offensive player in that position, or to bring in a more defensive midfielder and bring Casemiro in.”
Mazraoui – who played as a 10 during his academy days – did not take to the role in quite the same manner as Fernandes. This was not the creative hub around which United’s other attacking bodies orbit, but instead something of a second striker. The 26-year-old was an extra body to help with the team’s front press and played simple passes when United entered the final third.
United’s opening goal came from a quick counter-attack after Manuel Ugarte won the ball high up the field. Alejandro Garnacho carried the ball excellently down the left before his low cross found the feet of Mazraoui. The Morocco international offered a simple wall pass to Joshua Zirkzee, who then laid it off to Eriksen at the edge of the box. Eriksen’s shot found the top left corner and United were away.
There were times when Mazraoui reminded us he is not an attacking midfielder by trade. One heavy pass in the 19th minute opened United up for a counter-attack, from which Dusan Tadic shot on goal (tamely). At half time it looked as if Ten Hag’s experiment had worked. Less than five minutes after that, Fenerbahce’s second-half equaliser saw the United manager bring on Casemiro to bolster his midfield and moved Eriksen to the 10 and Mazraoui to left back.
It is unlikely Ten Hag will repeat the trick for Sunday’s fixture against West Ham, but for around 50 minutes, Mazraoui did a job as a No 10.
Carl Anka
How did Ugarte fare on his return to starting line-up?
In just his third start of the season, Ugarte displayed some of the qualities United signed him for this summer. Christian Eriksen’s presence and the relative success of the Mazraoui experiment meant Ugarte didn’t need to progress the ball, focusing instead on recycling possession and slowing down the tempo of the game.
He had a couple of iffy moments in the game’s opening period but settled in well. Ugarte won the ball from Fred to feed Eriksen, who was able to quickly feed Zirkzee. Four passes later, Zirkzee had laid the ball back for Eriksen at the edge of the box to score with a sweet finish into the top corner.
Ugarte’s best moment of the game came a few minutes later though. Szymanski’s cross from the left was palmed by Onana straight to Tadic, but Ugarte raced back and dove in to block Tadic’s effort with his foot, much to the delight of his teammates. A few more important defensive interventions and neat pass exchanges helped United see out the half with a lead. One of those saw him keep pace with Fred throughout a Fenerbahce counter in the 34th minute to nullify him as a pass receiver, forcing Tadic back and giving United’s defence time to get themselves organized.
Even after Fenerbahce’s goal, Ugarte remained one of United’s better defensive players. He ended the match with four clearances and three interceptions, both of which were team-high marks. The Uruguay midfielder also completed 90 per cent of his passes and made two tackles. It wasn’t a perfect performance, however, as he gave away possession five times and committed four fouls, but this was a step in the right direction.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
What did Erik ten Hag say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester United?
Sunday, October 27: West Ham (away), Premier League, 4.30pm UK time, 12.30am ET
Recommended reading
- Manchester United, Arsenal and the ‘Battle of the Buffet’ – told by those who were there
- Phil Neville’s finest hour? How Manchester United ended Arsenal’s 49-game unbeaten run in 2004
- Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce – Laptop protest and disrespect
- Does Lisandro Martinez at left-back work as more than a short-term fix for Manchester United?
(Top photo: Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
