Fenerbahce 1 Manchester United 1: Onana's double save and where is Ten Hag?

Manchester United played to a 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce on Thursday evening.

The visitors took the lead in the 15th minute through Christian Eriksen, who finished the ball with a sweeping attack upwards. Fenerbahce pushed for an equalizer in the first half but were denied by an incredible double save from Andre Onana.

They equalized after the break when Youssef En-Nesyri scored a header to beat Onana.

Former United manager Jose Mourinho was shown a red card in the second half after violently protesting the referee's decision not to award a penalty, but his side held on for the draw.

Here, The athleteExperts Carl Anka and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyze the game.

What does this draw mean for United?

United's worrying trend of conceding goals shortly after the restarts continued against Fenerbahce. This time Allan Saint-Maximin drove down the right before his cross reached En-Nesyri.

The timing of the goal? 48 minutes and 39 seconds. Erik ten Hag's answer? He replaces Joshua Zirkzee and Victor Lindelof for Rasmus Hojlund and Casemiro. The changes resulted in United reverting to their usual style of play, for better or worse. Eriksen pulled the strings in the final third while Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte sat deep. Ugarte gave his best performance in a United shirt – and that was necessary. United's game plan of attracting Fenerbahce's press before flicking the ball quickly down the wings lacked the punch that underpinned their strong performance in Saturday's 2-1 win over Brentford.

A disappointing performance from Diogo Dalot, who was repeatedly out of position at right-back, further hampered the team's fluency on both sides of the ball. This inability to control the game shows in this The athlete's match dashboard below.

Ten Hag's men have not won away from home in Europe since March 2023, a 1-0 win at Real Betis. It didn't look like United would concede a second goal, but it was also hard to see how they could score a winner. A late injury to substitute Antony meant Amad entered the game late but United lack body and confidence in attack. As Amad and Eriksen stood over a late free-kick with United bodies loaded in the penalty area, there was more hope than expectation. Eriksen's set piece was cleared in the first attempt.

After their third draw in a row, United find themselves in the bottom half of the Europa League “league phase” table. They have to fight to get out of the play-off qualifying places and reach the seeds.

Carl Anka

Was Onana's double save the best of the season?

Onana came to Manchester United's aid with about eight minutes left in the first half, just moments after Victor Lindelof's well-timed tackle blocked a shot from En-Nesyri. The resulting corner was played short and then cleared before Fenerbahce passed it on to Sebastian Szymanski on the left. Poor communication between the United defenders led to him receiving the ball wide.

Dusan Tadic hit Szymanski's whipped cross towards En-Nesyri, who forced a brilliant save from Onana despite the United goalkeeper's initial movement in the other direction.

Tadic hit the second ball back to En-Nesyri, who scored another header from point-blank range, but again Onana responded brilliantly, directing the ball onto the roof of the net with his fingertips.

The two saves maintained United's lead until half-time and will rank among the best goalkeeping moments of the season. The biggest challenger so far could be another double save from Onana, which came against Crystal Palace in the Premier League last month. It was also comparable to David Raya's fantastic save for Arsenal against Atalanta in the Champions League last month. The Spaniard saved a penalty from Mateo Retegui by diving low to the right before getting back to his feet, diving to the left and parrying Retegui's subsequent header.

Onana's intervention was crucial for United in a game where the margin for error remained slim until the end.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

How did Mazraoui fare as number 10?

A yellow card suspension meant United were without their captain and talisman Bruno Fernandes, but Ten Hag caused a surprise by choosing Noussair Mazraoui as a playing substitute instead of Eriksen or Amad.

“He is capable of getting there,” the United coach said before kick-off. “He can press well. Then we can see what is needed during the game. We can maybe use him in a different position and we can use a more attacking player in that position or use a more defensive midfielder and Casemiro.”

Mazraoui – who played as a number 10 during his academy days – didn't quite embrace the role in the same way as Fernandes. This was not the creative focal point around which United's other attacking forces revolve, but something like a second striker. The 26-year-old was an extra force helping the team's front pressing and played simple passes as United reached the final third.

United's opening goal came from a quick counter-attack after Ugarte won the ball high up the pitch. Alejandro Garnacho delivered the ball superbly down the left before his low cross reached the feet of Mazraoui. The Moroccan international offered Zirkzee a simple pass against the wall, who then passed it on to Eriksen on the edge of the penalty area. Eriksen's shot hit the top left corner and United were away.

Occasionally Mazraoui reminded us why he is not an attacking midfielder by trade. A heavy pass in the 19th minute allowed United to mount a counter-attack, from which Tadic (tamely) shot on goal. At halftime it looked like Ten Hag's experiment had worked. Five minutes later, Fenerbahce's second-half equalizer led to the United coach using Casemiro to strengthen his midfield, moving Eriksen to the number 10 and Mazraoui to the left-back position.

Ten Hag is unlikely to repeat this trick for Sunday's game against West Ham United, but for around 50 minutes Mazraoui did a passable job as No10.

Carl Anka

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

In his fourth start of the season, Ugarte showed some of the qualities that convinced United to sign him this summer. Eriksen's presence and the relative success of the Mazraoui experiment meant that Ugarte did not need to advance the ball, allowing him to instead concentrate on regaining possession and slowing the pace of play.

He had a few questionable moments in the early stages of the game, but he settled in well and played an important role in the opening game – but his best moment came a few minutes later. Onana crossed Szymanski's cross straight to Tadic, but Ugarte ran back and parried Tadic's shot with his foot, much to the delight of his teammates.

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

A few more key defensive plays and nice passing exchanges helped United get through the half with a lead. One of those saw him keep pace with Fred during a Fenerbahce counterattack in the 34th minute, eliminating him as a pass receiver, pushing Tadic back and giving United's defense time to organize themselves.

Even after Fenerbahce's goal, Ugarte remained one of United's better defensive players. He finished the game with four clearances and three interceptions, both of which were team highs. The Uruguayan midfielder also completed 88 percent of his passes and made two tackles. While it wasn't a perfect performance, as he gave the ball away five times and committed four fouls, it was a step in the right direction, as can be seen from his player dashboard below.

Anantaajith Raghuraman

What did Erik ten Hag say?

Ten Hag spoke about the injury Antony suffered after the game. The winger eventually left the stadium wearing a protective boot.

“It’s really bad luck for him,” he said, as reported by manutd.com. “I feel real sympathy for him even though he worked so hard in training.

“His training performance is so good that he deserves to come on as a substitute. When you have to leave so quickly, it's really sad. Hopefully it’s not too bad, we have to wait 24 hours for the assessment.”

What's next for Manchester United?

Sunday, October 27th: West Ham (away), Premier League, 4:30pm UK time, 12:30am ET

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(Top photo: Ahmad Mora – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)