Fenerbahce 2 Manchester United 1
This was a slipshod and frantic display that confirms Manchester United remain a confused bunch under José Mourinho.
Paul Pogba limped off before the half hour but that might have been a blessing due to his underwhelming contribution since his world-record transfer in the summer. The Frenchman's replacement, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had a night to forget, again looking off the pace and in need of next week's international break.
He is not the only United player who appears lost. The defence were constantly overrun - perhaps because the midfield went awol - and though Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford showed flashed of quality, Wayne Rooney was virtually anonymous until an 89th-minute consolation that is strike No247 for the club.
All of this suggests Mourinho has serious work to do on a side who are now third in their Europa League group and whose Premier League title challenge is listing down in eighth place, eight points behind Manchester City.
The nightmare started 69 seconds in. When Hasan Ali Kaldrium's hopeful punt came in from the left Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo failed to close down Moussa Sow. This allowed the Senegalese to let fly an audacious overhead kick that beat David de Gea, gave Fenerbahce the lead, left the goalkeeper bemused, and Mourinho a picture of quiet fury. No wonder: this was a near replica of the dire beginning at Chelsea last month, when Pedro scored after 30 seconds and United ended on the wrong end of a 4-0 hammering.
Any hope of silencing a raucous stadium early-on was gone. A firecracker atmosphere now had a tinderbox opening that only sparked the faithful further.
What United needed desperately was to slow the game and lower the temperature - take hold of the ball and move Fenerbahce around for a prolonged passage. Instead, it came close to being a two-goal deficit before the quarter hour. Slick interplay between Jermain Lens and Alper Potuk ended with the former being downed by Morgan Schneiderlin just out the area. From the right-hand side this came to nothing but United were rocking.
What they needed was a sight of goal - something to offer encouragement and make Fenerbahce think. Rooney was the man given a golden chance to do so when Martial slipped him in. The 31-year-old was clear but an awful first touch allowed Volkan Demirel to rush out and the danger ended.
In the disjointed play and questionable confidence, United continued the pattern of not only this campaign but of those under the former managers David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. The classic illustration of the ills that continue to bedevil United in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era came just before Pogba limped off on 28 minutes.
A Rooney corner came to Blind who had time. Instead, an amateurish touch allowed Souza to seize possession. His side broke, United were in disarray, and the move ended in relief for them as Lens missed a high-flying volley.
Pogba’s forced exit - he had been chopped down earlier - brought Ibrahimovic into the contest. The 35-year-old took up the centre-forward position and Rooney, at first, moved into the No10 position. From here, United dominated until the break and what passed was a volatile period as the niggle factor rose.
The flashpoint came in the closing moments before the interval. Ibrahimovic desperately needs a goal so maybe this caused the frustration which moved him to fall out with Simon Kjaer as they came together near the benches. Ibrahimovic appeared to grab the defender around the throat yet neither Milorad Mazic nor the referee's assistant saw an infringement and Ibrahimovic walked off scot-free though loud boos became the soundtrack when he neared the ball.
The next unsavoury incident happened outside the home area. Rooney lunged towards Souza, made no contact but this did not stop the midfielder going down. This caused anger from Rooney and a fracas developed which featured heavy involvement from Schneiderlin and Demirel.
When all of this cleared Fenerbahce’s keeper had been booked by Mazic and the game continued with United more or less camped inside their opponent’s territory.
The Portuguese had sent out an XI showing three changes from the 0-0 draw with Burnley. Ibrahimovic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard were replaced by Martial, Rooney and Schneiderlin. The latter's role now ended as he was substituted for Mata and so Ander Herrera became the lone holding player in what appeared a 4-1-4-1.
This meant Rooney dropped into the quasi-midfield role Mourinho states should never be his but which he seems unable to escape. Nor can Ibrahimovic avoid blame for Lens’s second. United’s No9 chased back admirably only to give away a free-kick 20 yards out. Up stepped the No77 with a sweet curler that left De Gea rooted to the grass.
Mourinho moved instantly to switch Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Rashford. Still, Fenerbahce poured forward. Blind was unable to halt Emmanuel Emenike and De Gea had to scramble clear.
Scramble was what United ended the match doing: it is not supposed to be like this under Mourinho.
Guardian Service
