Erik ten Hag’s United went someway to silencing the raucous home crowd when Christian Eriksen broke the deadlock on 15 minutes, the Danish midfielder firing home following a counter-attack with his fourth goal of the season.
Onana produced a stunning double-save to deny the hosts just before half-time but Fenerbahce scored a deserved equaliser shortly after the break through a Youssef En-Nesyri header.
While neither side could find a winner, the remaining 40 minutes was far from uneventful, with Mourinho shown a red card for his complaints after Fenerbahce were denied a penalty.
Mourinho, who was sacked by Manchester United in 2018, was full of praise for his side after the 1-1 draw and said the Premier League giants were ‘saved’ by Onana.
‘Onana made two incredible saves in our fantastic initial period,’ Mourinho told TNT Sports.
‘Come on, he saved the result. My keeper didn’t make a save, he made two impossible saves.
‘I think he was the most decisive player. He didn’t make 20 saves but two were incredible, Onana can do it.
‘We were better than them so it’s a good result for Manchester United.’
On the match as a whole, Mourinho added: ‘They got a point against us, we didn’t get a point against them. We played amazing.
‘We will destroy every team if we play like this in the league. United are a superior level, the Premier League has more quality, more intensity, more everything.
‘My boys did an amazing match.’
Mourinho refused to discuss the non-penalty decision which led to him being sent to the stands but nevertheless questioned referee Clement Turpin.
‘I don’t want to speak about it,’ Mourinho said before being asked what the officials told him when he visited their dressing room after the match.
‘He told me something incredible, he said at the same time he could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline.
‘I congratulate him because that is incredible, to have that peripheral vision. He had one eye on the box and one eye on me, that’s why he’s one of the best refs in the world.
‘I watched the incident, I don’t speak about it.’
The 1-1 draw in Istanbul was Manchester United’s third successive draw in the Europa League this season and leaves them 21th out of 36 in the table.
Asked about his impressive save, Onana said: ‘The saves are not important, the most important thing is the victory for the team.
‘It is nice if I make those kinds of saves and the team wins. It is a big disappointment.’
The Cameroonian goalkeeper added: ‘It is a big disappointment for me and the fans, for the club, as a Manchester United player you have an obligation to try to win.
‘It is what we tried to do today, but we also have to recognise it is a tough place to win.
‘We didn’t win, but at least we didn’t lose, Not happy of course, but we move on, take responsibility and go again.
‘We had more control than them in the second half and more chances. We conceded an early goal in the second half, we had to show character and I think that is what we did.
‘We didn’t win but I thought we were better than them.’
Manchester United, sitting just 12th in the Premier League, return to domestic action on Sunday against West Ham, while Mourinho’s Fenerbahce play Bodrum on the same day.
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