Fenerbahce 1 United 1

Match report: Fenerbahce 1 United 1

Thursday 24 October 2024 22:05

Manchester United made it three draws in three games in the Europa League after it ended 1-1 at Fenerbahce.

Christian Eriksen's fine strike ensured Erik ten Hag's side led at the interval, but Youssef En-Nesyri, who scored twice against the Reds in 2023 for Sevilla in the same competition, levelled soon after the restart.

Former Reds boss Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands when his team were denied a penalty and the game petered out, with a worrying injury to Antony disrupting proceedings. 

As Andre Onana had to make a couple of superb saves, it was probably a fair result overall, although a reshaped line-up, that initially featured Noussair Mazraoui in suspended skipper Bruno Fernandes's no.10 position, did control the latter stages.

FIRST HALF - ERIKSEN ON THE MARK

In an opening played amid ear-splitting noise, Bright Osayi-Samuel had the first attempt on goal, doing well down the right but dragging into the side-netting from an impossible angle, with better options in the middle. Ex-Red Fred fired way off target as he looked to make an impact but it was a new member of United's engine room who had the desired effect on 15 minutes. Manuel Ugarte won the ball and sparked a move that saw Joshua Zirkzee release Alejandro Garnacho.

Mazraoui nudged the Argentina international's pass to Zirkzee, and his lay-off invited Eriksen to expertly find the target with minimum fuss, claiming his second goal of this season's Europa League, after his effort against FC Twente.

Some quick feet by the evergreen Eriksen in midfield allowed Marcus Rashford to attack the goal with purpose, cutting in from the right and firing inches the wrong side of the far post. Seconds later, though, Ugarte was required to make an amazing block to thwart Dusan Tadic, when Sebastian Szymanski's cross was only pushed out by Onana.

The Reds keeper then showed his agility with two stunning saves in quick succession. En-Nesyri forced a brilliant one-handed stop from the Cameroon international and, when Tadic helped the rebound back into the danger area, En-Nesyri's second effort was tipped over the bar by the flying no.24.

It was enough to keep Ten Hag's men ahead at the break, with work still to do in the second half.

SECOND HALF - ANOTHER POINT

Fenerbahce soon got back on level terms, within four minutes of the restart. Allan Saint-Maximin had time and space to pick out a cross that drifted into the six-yard box, where En-Nesyri nodded it past Onana all too easily from a United perspective.

Ten Hag introduced Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund, in place of Victor Lindelof and Zirkzee but the home side continued to threaten. When Ugarte challenged Osayi-Samuel in the box, there were screams for a penalty. Although there was a pause for a VAR review, there was nothing doing and, so incensed was Mourinho, that his protests earned a straight red card from referee Clement Turpin.

With their manager in the stands, the Istanbul side lost their way a little but Diogo Dalot failed to tee up Rashford, who was on the stretch to reach it, after a great ball by Casemiro. Captain Lisandro Martinez had a shot blocked at source before a flurry of efforts. Mazraoui, now at left-back, forced a save out of Dominik Livakovic, as did Matthijs de Ligt from the resulting corner. 

Garnacho blazed over from distance and Hojlund could only send in a tame shot that Livakovic comfortably fielded, as the Reds continued to ask most of the questions.

With six minutes of normal time left, Garnacho produced a better effort that forced another save out of Livakovic but an injury to Antony derailed any momentum, as he was unfortunately taken off on a stretcher after initially trying to play on.

The match fizzled out somewhat, leaving United on three points after three games in the competition, with PAOK up next, at Old Trafford.

MATCH DETAILS

Fenerbahce: Livakovic; Mert Mulder, Djiku, Soyuncu, Osayi-Samuel (Rodrigo Becao 62); Fred, Amrabat; Tadic (Yuksek 79), Szymanski (Yandas 90), Saint-Maximin (Kahveci 79); En-Nesyri (Dzeko 79).

Substitutes not used: Egribayat, Cetin, Akaydin, Akcicek, Dursun, Tosun. 

Scorer: En-Nesyri 49.

Booked: Osayi-Samuel, Mert Mulder.

United: Onana; Dalot, De Ligt, Lindelof (Casemiro 55), Martinez (c); Ugarte, Eriksen; Rashford (Antony 73 (Amad 89)), Mazraoui, Garnacho; Zirkzee (Hojlund 55).

Substitutes not used: Bayindir, Heaton, Amass, Ogunneye, Wheatley. 

Scorer: Eriksen 15.

Booked: Rashford.

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