Europa League: Fenerbahçe 1 (En-Nesyri 49') Manchester Utd 1 (Eriksen 15') YOUSSEF En-Nesyri returned to haunt Manchester United, and cancel out Christian Eriksen’s opener, as the meeting between the club’s two most successful post-Fergie managers ended all-square. True to form, Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho hogged the headlines against the current United boss Erik ten Hag, earning a second half red card, although by that stage his team was deservedly level. Mourinho watched the final half-hour from the stand behind the dug-out after being sent off for protesting a failed penalty appeal after the slightest of contact by Manuel Ugarte on Bright Osayi-Samuel.
But he had seen En-Nesyri, who scored twice for Sevilla to knock United out of the Europa League in 2023, guarantee a draw that means the Premier League side have opened their Europa League campaign with three draws and have not won a European game for nearly a year. United raced into the lead after 15 minutes, with virtually their first attack of the game and Alejandro Garnacho’s first foray into enemy territory, but more impressive was the way ten Hag’s side had weathered a predictably stormy opening from Mourinho’s men. A febrile atmosphere, generated by 45,000 baying home fans, had United under severe pressure from the off, as they attempted to follow then Hag’s play-it-from-the-back mantra.
There were some anxious moments but Andre Onana, in particular, maintained his poise, timing his passes out of t.
