Fenerbahce 1 Manchester United 1: Was Onana’s double save the best of the season? Where does this leave United?

Manchester United F.Bahçe drew 1-1 in the match played on Thursday night.

The visiting team opened the scoring in the 15th minute. He fell after a wide movement on the field Christian Eriksen He entered the penalty area and shot at F.Bahçe’s goal. Fenerbahce pressed to equalize in the first half but were denied this by an incredible double save. André Onana.

However, they managed to get the goal they were looking for after the half. When I asked for the third time, Youssef En-Nesyri he connected with a header and was able to beat Onana with the resulting effort.

Former United manager Jose Mourinho would receive a red card in the second half after intensely protesting his side’s penalty. However, his team would resist the draw.

Here, athletics experts Carl Anka and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyze the game.

Where does this draw leave United?

United’s worrying trend of giving up shortly after restarts continued against Fenerbahce. This time Allan Saint-Maximin advanced down the right before his cross found Youssef En Nesyri’s head.

Is it goal time? 48:36 minutes Ten Hag’s response? Zirkzee replacement and Victor Lindelof for Rasmus Hojlund And casemiro. This change has seen United resort to a familiar style of play, for better or worse. Eriksen pulled the strings in the final third, while Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte sat deep. Ugarte has been at his best so far in a United jersey, but that’s how it was supposed to be. United’s game plan is to trap Fenerbahce’s press before striking the ball quickly down the wings He lacked the extra edge that made the 2-1 win against Brentford work.

A disappointing performance Diogo Dalot The player, who was repeatedly out of position in the right-back position, further disrupted the team’s fluidity on both sides of the ball.

Ten Hag’s men haven’t won away in Europe since March 2023 Real Betis). With five minutes left in normal time, United didn’t look like conceding even a second, but it was hard to see how they could score a goal. late injury Anthony (Substitute player in the 73rd minute) Marcus Rashford) It meant Amad rolled the dice late, but United are low on attacking physicality and attacking confidence. There was more hope than expectation that something could happen in ‘Fergie Time’ as the young Ivorian and Eriksen stood in charge of the free-kick with multiple United bodies in the box. Eriksen’s set pieces were cleared at the first attempt.

A second red card for Jose Mourinho meant he was unable to fulfill his duty as pantomime villain at the final whistle, but the 1-1 draw was another disappointing result which saw them collectively bankroll the 2024-25 season. The third consecutive draw was achieved in the 20-24 part of the league phase of the tournament. They’re not “out” but they’ll have a fight on their hands to get out of the play-off place and move towards the top seed.

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 intervention had blocked Youssef En Nesyri’s effort. The resulting corner was played short and then cleared before Fenerbahçe recycled the corner. Sebastian Szymanski Down the left, miscommunication from United’s end resulted in him receiving the ball in acres of space.

Szymanski deflected Dusan Tadic’s cross towards En Nesyri; En Nesyri forced a superb attacking save from Onana despite the United goalkeeper initially moving the other way.

The second ball was passed back to En Nesyri by Tadic for another header from close range and this time Onana reacted brilliantly, putting his fingertips to the ball and slotting it into the net.

A superb double save ensured United maintained their lead at half-time and went top with their best save of the season. This season’s closest rival could be one of Onana’s double saves. Crystal Palace inside Premier League last month. It was also comparable David Rayagreat savings Arsenal against Atalanta inside Champions League last month. The Spaniard denied Mateo Retegui After the penalty kick, he stood up with a low dive to his right and jumped to his left to block Retegui’s follow-up header.

Save of the season or not, it was crucial for United in a game where margins of error remained slim until the end.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

How did Mazraoui perform as number 10?

Yellow card suspension meant United were without their captain and talisman Bruno Fernandesbut Ten Hag created a surprise by choosing this. Noussair Mazraoui As the playmaker replacement for Christian Eriksen Amad Diallo.

“He has the capacity to get there,” the United manager said before kick-off.
“He can press well. Then we can see what is needed during the game. Maybe we can move him to another position and put a more attacking player in that position, or we can bring a more defensive midfielder and bring in Casemiro.”

Mazraoui – Played as number 10 during his academy days – He didn’t take on the role in the same way as Fernandes. This was not the creative center around which United’s other attacking teams revolved, instead he was more like a second striker. The 26-year-old was an extra body to help the team press forward and made simple passes as United entered the final third.

United’s first goal came from a quick counter-attack after Manuel Ugarte won the ball high up the area. Alejandro Garnacho He carried the ball perfectly down the left side before his low cross found its way to Mazraoui’s feet. Morocco international proposed a simple wall crossing Joshua ZirkzeeHe then left it to Eriksen on the edge of the penalty area. Eriksen’s shot went into the top left corner and United were away.

There were times when Mazraoui reminded us that he was not an attacking midfielder by trade. A fierce pass opened United up for a counter-attack in the 19th minute and Dusan Tadic shot (meekly) on target. At half-time it looked like Ten Hag’s experiment had worked. Less than five minutes later, Fenerbahce’s second-half equalizer saw the United manager introduce Casemiro to strengthen his midfield, moving Eriksen to the 10 and Mazraoui to left-back.

Ten Hag is unlikely to repeat the trick in Sunday’s game. West HamBut for about 50 minutes, Mazraoui operated as number 10.

Carl Anka

How did Ugarte perform when he returned to the starting eleven?

In just his third start of the season, Ugarte has displayed some of the qualities United signed him for this summer. The presence of Christian Eriksen and the relative success of the Mazraoui experiment meant that Ugarte did not need to advance the ball, instead focusing on retaining possession and slowing down the tempo of the game.

He had a few questionable moments in the opening period of the game but settled in well. Ugarte won the ball from Fred to feed Eriksen, who quickly managed to feed Zirkzee. Four passes later, Zirkzee deposited the ball on the edge of the penalty area for Eriksen to fire a sweet goal into the top corner.

Ugarte played well on Thursday (Oğuz Yeter/Anadolu via Getty Images)

But Ugarte’s best moment of the game came a few minutes later. Szymanski’s cross from the left was fed straight to Tadic by Onana, but Ugarte quickly got back and dived to block Tadic’s effort with his foot, much to the delight of his team-mates. Several key defensive interventions and tidy passing exchanges helped United take the lead at half-time. One of these saw him keep up with Fred in the 34th minute and override him as a pass receiver, pushing Tadic back and giving United’s defense time to organize themselves.

Ugarte remained one of United’s best defenders even after Fenerbahce’s goal. He finished the game with four tackles and three interceptions, both team highs. The Uruguayan midfielder completed 88 percent of his passes and made two interceptions. It wasn’t a perfect performance, as he had five possessions and committed four fouls, but it was a step in the right direction.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

What did Erik ten Hag say?

We’ll bring it to you after he speaks at the post-match press conference.

What will be the future of Manchester United?

Sunday, October 27: West Ham (away), Premier League, 16.30 UK time, 12.30 ET