Key events
Manchester United get the second half underway. No changes. In the tunnel beforehand, José Mourinho was spotted sharing a warm moment with André Onana, who he was surely congratulating for that astonishing double save. A smile and a nice word with Casemiro, too. “You can’t beat Jose for quotes, love him, hate him, he is always interesting,” writes Mary Waltz. “No offence to Turkish football but he is so transparent about wanting to get back to the Premier League, Serie A, La Liga. He is fortunate to be receiving a paycheck, but it is obvious he thinks he is in purgatory and wants out.”
Half-time entertainment.
HALF TIME: Fenerbahçe 0-1 Manchester United
United scored a fine goal through Christian Eriksen, then did a good job in dampening down the atmosphere at the Şükrü Saracoğlu. And yet it’s taken two out-of-this-world interventions, first by Manuel Ugarte and then André Onana, to deny Dušan Tadić and Youssef En-Nesyri what looked like certain goals. All poised deliciously for an all-action second half!
45 min: There will be one additional first-half minute.
44 min: The visitors stroke it around in the clock-management style. Whistles around the Şükrü Saracoğlu, music to Manchester United’s ears.
42 min: The pace of the game suddenly drops again, which is more to United’s benefit than Fenerbahçe’s, as the first-half clock runs down.
40 min: Another corner for the hosts, this time from the right. It’s worked back to Szymański, who hoicks it into the middle of nowhere. The Fenerbahçe fans getting super-irritated now, for one reason and another.
38 min: Nothing comes of the corner. On the touchline, José Mourinho wears the exasperated look of a man who can’t believe what he’s just seen. Onana with two top-drawer reaction stops in short order!
37 min: The corner’s cleared. But Fenerbahçe come back at them. A cross from the left. En-Nesyri heads towards the bottom left from close range. Onana makes a spectacular Gordon Banks-esque diving stop. Tadic turns it back into the middle. En-Nesyri tries again, only for his second point-blank header to be tipped over by the keeper. What an outrageous double save!
36 min: Zirkzee spins cutely into space in the midfield … then clumps a woeful attempt to release Rashford straight through to the keeper. A huge chance to get Rashford one on one. The hosts counter, En-Nesyri attempting to convert Saint-Maximin’s low left-wing cross. Lindelof deflects out for a corner.
34 min: Tadic has the opportunity to release Fred down the right but inexplicably opts to cut infield instead. There’s nothing on there. The hosts, having started brightly, are a significantly dimmer proposition right now.
32 min: In the Fenerbahçe dugout, José Mourinho has a face on. Erik ten Hag doing a number on him so far.
30 min: Nothing comes of the set piece, De Ligt nicking Söyüncü upside the head, the whistle relieving the pressure on the hosts. United have done an excellent job on getting the home fans to pipe down; the atmosphere is distinctly subdued now, with the hosts offering little by way of attack.
29 min: Dalot breezes past Müldür on the right. His deep cross nearly reaches Mazraoui … but not quite. United come again, though, through Rashford down the same flank. Rashford wins United’s first corner of the evening.
27 min: Djiku clatters into Zirkzee, and the United forward requires some treatment. On comes the physio, while the referee wags a finger at the Fenerbahçe player. No booking, though. Zirkzee is fine to continue.
25 min: That was outrageously good by Ugarte, who has had his vocal critics since joining United. Money not so badly spent after all, on the evidence so far this evening.
23 min: Szymański finds himself in space on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. He cuts back, hoping to tee up Tadic for the tap-in. Tadic will surely score … but as he sidefoots goalwards, Ugarte arrives from nowhere and blocks with an extended leg! Onana claims, and that’s a certain goal saved by the Uruguay international, who also did his bit during the build-up from deep for Eriksen’s opener.
22 min: Eriksen barrels down the middle of the park before slipping Rashford into space on the right. Rashford embarks on an elegant but powerful dribble into the area, opening his body and steering a low curler inches wide of the left-hand post. Had that been on target – and it so nearly was – it was number two, because Livaković had been given the eyes and was out of the game completely.
21 min: Osayi-Samuel drives down the right and reaches the box, only to hesitate instead of working space to shoot. Instead he lays off to Tadic, who sends a pea-roller straight at Onana. Mazraoui, who had given up possession cheaply beforehand, breathes again.
19 min: The home crowd are still making a lot of noise, but now it’s irritated booing. The fans still smarting from a late equaliser by Samsunspor in the Super Lig last weekend.
17 min: That was a hell of a counter attack. A precision-tooled break. And what a finish! Fenerbahçe think De Ligt fouled Tadic in the build-up, but the referee’s having none of it, and rightly so.
GOAL! Fenerbahçe 0-1 Manchester United (Eriksen 15)
Hey, maybe this Ten Hag chap is onto something! Zirkzee sends Garnacho into space down the left. Garnacho crosses low. The number ten, Mazraoui, cushions the ball into the path of Zirkzee, now in the box. Zirkzee rolls it into the path of Eriksen, who opens his body and slams a gorgeous sidefoot into the top left. What a goal! From United’s first attack of the match!
14 min: Szymański bursts into space down the middle of the pitch only to be clipped from behind by Rashford, who correctly goes into the book.
12 min: Eriksen drops back, less to quarterback, more to put his foot on the ball and calm United down. They string a passing sequence together for the first time this evening. They go nowhere, but that’s not really the point.
10 min: Amrabat’s loose pass in midfield allows Garnacho the opportunity to break forward, but he can’t combine with Rashford. Ugarte then takes a turn in shipping possession cheaply, and Szymański crosses from the left, hoping to find Saint-Maximin on the other flank. Martinez is able to usher the ball out for a goal kick. Speed is winning out over quality so far.
9 min: Fenerbahçe continue to dominate possession. United haven’t been able to string anything meaningful together yet. “What’s up with United’s shorts?” wonders Joe Johnson, sweating the smalls stuff. “The coloured stripe looks practically orange — clashes with their red shirts and makes it looks like they borrowed their shorts from another team at short notice.”
7 min: Saint-Maximin probes speedily down the left and wins the first corner of the game off Dalot. Szymański hoicks it into the mixer. United don’t really deal with it, and Fred is first to a dropping ball, 12 yards out. He lashes it wildly into the stand behind. This isn’t the most assured start by United.
6 min: Fred jinks his way down the right, hooking a pass over his shoulder for Osayi-Samuel, who enters the United area and scampers along the byline. He sells Martinez a dummy, then slaps a shot into the side netting. Tadic, in the middle, may have notes.
4 min: Szymański is checked by Dalot, allowing the hosts to pump a free kick forward. Ugarte heads it back to his keeper, but not with enough power to avoid a brief heart-in-mouth moment for Onana, who is thankfully for United able to claim in time.
2 min: United play it smart early doors, knocking it around the back slowly and methodically, hoping to quieten the crowd. Good luck with that as well.
1 min: There is some proper bedlam going on at the Şükrü Saracoğlu. What a noise! Good luck thinking.
The hosts get the ball rolling. It’s exactly one year to the day since United’s last win in European competition, that 1-0 Champions League victory over Copenhagen at Old Trafford.
Here come the teams! Fenerbahçe in their yellow and navy-blue livery, United in their storied first-choice red. José has got the atmosphere he wants, for now at least. Hats off to both managers for setting this up with all manner of narrative possibility. “And so to tonight’s instalment of deckchair rearrangement on the iceberg-bound ship of ten Hag’s United,” begins Justin Kavanagh. “Mazraoui as a (false?) ten. Even tonight’s opposition’s manager has recently been dreaming up innovative yet unlikely ways to see them win another league title this century.” We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
José Mourinho talks to TNT Sports. “I feel good … I would love an easier draw … against a very good Premier League team which is from a different level … but it is also a challenge and opportunity for the players to play at the highest level … so many Champions League matches from Tuesday and Wednesday, but not many as good as this one can be … we are going to try … we have four points in two matches which is the average we need to qualify which is our objective … but let’s go to the game and try to win it … when I analyse United in many matches you can see the work that is behind … tactically they know what they want to do, especially with the ball, they know perfectly … their dynamic can be difficult to identify, the players more than the movements, so we have to focus on the movements … we try to prepare them the best for this match … their organisation and designs are good … the Turkish culture can go in both directions but hopefully [the supporters] understand this is a very difficult match for us and for sure will understand that Manchester United will have more of the ball than we are going to have … if they can support us and push us it will be very good for us … on the pitch we have players playing in different positions … when I see people moaning about a few United players who are not playing … tch! … you shouldn’t moan at that level … but [grins cheekily] when I was there I was also moaning!”
A couple of takes on Noussair Mazraoui’s role tonight, served as a piping-hot points-of-view platter, from the kitchens of TNT Sports. First up, Paul Scholes: “I’m confused … I think his explanation was confused … I hope Mazraoui understands better what he’s got to do tonight than I do … I found that difficult to understand … I don’t see him as a number ten to bring the game together … I think Eriksen is perfect for that … I played against Eriksen years ago when he played number ten and he was brilliant … I think it’s his best position … the manager might be right … I hope he is right.”
Owen Hargreaves adds: “It’s a massive surprise … every United fan seeing that will be thinking ‘Mazraoui is a ten?’ … but maybe he sees something … he knows him from Ajax … he must have something up his sleeve … I’m with Scholesy, hopefully it goes well but it’s a huge surprise for everyone.”
Erik ten Hag talks tactics with TNT Sports. “We have some injuries … a suspension to Bruno … so we have had to be a bit creative … we have a short turnaround to West Ham so we make some changes … a different set-up … but not so much different because we want to keep consistent … we bring Noussair Mazraoui in the 10 position … I know him from before, sometimes Ajax have played him there … also in our system as a full-back he is sometimes playing in those half-spaces so he is capable of doing this job … he can do good pressing … we can see during the game what is needed … we can go with him maybe in another position … maybe if needed a more offensive position … and also it’s possible to bring a more defensive midfield to bring Casemiro in … Rasmus Højlund is just returning from a big injury and we have to build his fitness … he is not up to 100 percent … he will come … we want to avoid his getting injured again … it is to spare him and on Sunday it is another big game … the atmosphere will be very loud and hostile … we know the style of the manager … he will play from the underdog position … counter-attacks … he can do that very good … we have to be prepared for it … read the game and play it smart.”
There’s a fair chance United weren’t best pleased when this fixture clattered out of the Uefa supercomputer. They’ve visited the Istanbul giants on three previous occasions, and have lost the last two. Here’s what happened in the Champions League in 2004 …
… and this is how things panned out in the Europa League in 2016. Bad news for Jose Mourinho that day, though fair’s fair, he went on to lead United to the trophy at the end of the season. “Could Mr Mourinho want to put a nail in Erik’s coffin?” wonders John Potter. “I’m pretty certain he’d like to, despite his protestations otherwise.”
Manchester United make four changes to the team sent out to beat Brentford last weekend. Two are enforced, with Bruno Fernandes suspended and Jonny Evans injured, while Casemiro and Rasmus Højlund drop to the bench. Victor Lindelöf, Noussair Mazraoui, Noussair Mazraoui and Manuel Ugarte step up.
There are quite a few familiar faces in the Fenerbahçe starting XI. A couple of stars formerly of Old Trafford in Fred and Sofyan Amrabat. Çağlar Söyüncü, once of Leicester City, Dušan Tadić of Southampton, and Newcastle trickster Allan Saint-Maximin. Meanwhile on the bench there’s Edin Džeko, late of Manchester City, and erstwhile Everton and Crystal Palace striker Cenk Tosun. Hello again, one and all.
The teams
Fenerbahçe: Livaković, Müldür, Djiku, Söyüncü, Osayi-Samuel, Amrabat, Fred, Szymański, Tadić, En-Nesyri, Saint-Maximin.
Subs: Egribayat, Cetin, Akaydin, Yuksek, Yandas, Dzeko, Kahveci, Tosun, Dursun, Rodrigo Becao, Akcicek, Tograk.
Manchester United: Onana, Lindelof, de Ligt, Martinez, Mazraoui, Eriksen, Ugarte, Dalot, Garnacho, Rashford, Zirkzee.
Subs: Bayindir, Heaton, Hojlund, Diallo, Casemiro, Antony, Wheatley, Amass, Ogunneye.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France).
Preamble
Poor old Manchester United can’t do right for doing wrong. They’re handed a three-goal lesson at home by Tottenham Hotspur; United are in crisis and Erik ten Hag has only a couple of games to save his job. They secure staunch draws away at Porto and Aston Villa then follow it with an impressive if dry-blood-caked turnabout victory over Brentford; United are in crisis and Erik ten Hag has only a couple of games to save his job. It doesn’t seem to make much difference, which can’t be very fair, and what’s worse it’s beginning to get old. So shall we park all that for the next couple of hours? Yes, let’s. This MBM is officially a Crisis-Club Free Zone™, with kick-off at 8pm BST (though should United ship five in the first half we reserve the right to perform an ear-splitting screeching handbrake turn). It’s on!
