by It just had to be about him. José Mourinho received a red card against Manchester United for protesting because he felt Fenerbahce should have had a penalty, but salvaged a point thanks to an equalizer from Youssef En-Nesyri after they had been given the lead by Christian Eriksen’s opener had fallen behind.
The result – a third straight draw in the competition – leaves Erik ten Hag’s side sandwiched in the Europa League playoff plans between Viktoria Plzen and Elfsborg after the Dutchman strangely decided to use Noussair Mazraoui in an unusual attacking role. The United boss will point to a much improved performance from a team that had conceded 17 goals in their last five away games in Europe, although things could have been even worse had Mourinho’s pleas not fallen on deaf ears. After the 3-0 defeat under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2004, United emerged relatively unscathed this time – unlike their former employee.
Ten Hag has described the Europa League as “a big goal for us” this season, but he caused a surprise with his starting XI when he chose Mazraoui as a replacement for suspended captain Bruno Fernandes. The Moroccan, who occasionally played in a more advanced position at Ajax, was involved in the set-up of Eriksen’s goal but otherwise appeared confused by his new role and was quickly abandoned when Fenerbahce equalised. Mourinho’s nervous breakdown came shortly afterwards and the game ended thereafter, but not before substitute Antony was carried away on a stretcher with a serious injury.
Mazraoui was one of four changes since United’s win over Brentford at the weekend. Rasmus Højlund had to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring the winning goal in that game. Ten Hag explained that the Danish striker needs to “build up his fitness” after returning from injury. United looked much more dangerous with the more orthodox formation that ended the game but still couldn’t achieve much despite Alejandro Garnacho’s best attempts.
Not only were there familiar faces on the away bench, including former United midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat as well as several former Premier League players in the Fenerbahce team.
Since the infamous “Welcome to Hell” game against Galatasaray in 1993, this city has rarely been kind to visitors over the years. Some United fans sustained minor injuries on Wednesday evening when they were attacked by some Fenerbahce ultras. There was an intimidating atmosphere at a venue where they have only won once before: in October 1996, when David Beckham and Eric Cantona achieved a 2-0 win.
United had clearly been given instructions to try and calm the home crowd, but could have fallen behind early on when former QPR full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel opted to shoot from a tight angle rather than pass. André Onana then had to be on his guard to keep out a cross from Sebastian Szymanski as the hosts gained momentum and Mourinho roamed his technical area.
But his mood only took a turn for the worse when, after a quick break featuring Garnacho, Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee, United took the lead through a smart finish from Eriksen. The home fans and their manager were of the opinion that there had been two fouls beforehand, but referee Clément Turpin disagreed.
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Marcus Rashford was inches away from doubling United’s lead after forcing his way into the penalty area, but it took an incredible block from Manuel Ugarte to deny Dusan Tadic after Onana deflected a cross straight to him and left the open gate open. The Fenerbahce fans could hardly believe their misfortune as Onana made two brilliant saves – the first reminiscent of Gordon Banks against Brazil – and En-Nesyri parried headers from close range to ensure her side ended the half on a positive note.
Mourinho reacted to the double save by rubbing his eyes in disbelief and took a moment to congratulate the Cameroon goalkeeper in the tunnel as he headed into the second half. But Onana could not prevent En-Nesyri’s equalizer after Allan Saint-Maximin found space on the left and sent a pinpoint cross to the Moroccan’s forehead.
Ten Hag responded by abandoning his Mazraoui experiment and betting on Højlund and Casemiro, but shortly afterwards came the game’s controversial moment. Osayi-Samuel was strongly challenged by Ugarte, but Turpin waved off the protests. Mourinho looked shocked as he was shown a red card for protesting and it took him ages to leave the pitch before taking his place in the stands. Then Rashford was guilty of an embarrassing aerial shot after being set up by Diogo Dalot’s powerful run when it looked certain he would restore United’s lead as Mourinho, not for the first time in his career, let his emotions get the best of him.
