Mourinho sees red when Fenerbahce holds Man Utd

Manchester United have drawn all three of their European games this season and one point does little to ease the pressure on underrated manager Erik ten Hag.

Christian Eriksen fired at a weakened United in the 15th minute, but Fenerbahce had more chances and won the prize when Youssef En-Nesyri equalized early in the second half.

“We were better than them, so overall it was a good result for Manchester United,” Mourinho told TNT Sports.

One point leaves United 21st in the 36-team table, with their chances of finishing in the top eight and directly qualifying for the last 16 slimming.

Fenerbahce is in 14th place with five points, and a place in the top 24 group is enough to qualify for the play-offs.

Mourinho also came into the game under pressure at the start of his reign, with Fenerbahce eight points behind rivals Galatasaray and leading the Turkish Super Lig.

“If we play like this in the Turkish league, we will destroy every team,” added Mourinho, who was shown a red card for his protests after appeals for a penalty were rejected in the second half.

“He (the referee) told me something amazing. He saw the action in the penalty area and my behavior on the touchline.

“I congratulate him because his peripheral vision is amazing. During the game, at 100 miles an hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation and the other on the bench and my actions. That’s why he’s one of the best referees in the history of the world.”

United were missing 10 players, including captain Bruno Fernandes, due to suspension or injury.

In Fernandes’ absence, defender Noussair Mazraoui started the match in an unfamiliar attacking midfield role and had a role to play in scoring an impressive opening goal.

Manuel Ugarte dispossessed former United midfielder Fred to launch a counter-attack involving Alejandro Garnacho and Mazraoui, before Joshua Zirkzee clipped Eriksen and shot from the edge of the area.

However, for the third time in three Europa League matches, Ten Hag’s team failed to take the lead and did not win a single match in Europe throughout the entire calendar year.

“We have to win and get back into a position to win, but we have to kill the opponent more,” Ten Hag said. “We let our opponent get away with a point.”

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– Onana’s double save –

Since arriving from Paris Saint-Germain for £50 million ($65 million) in August, Ugarte has struggled to establish himself.

However, the Uruguayan showed a defensive awareness that attracted the interest of Manchester United after a brilliant goal-saving challenge that saw him deny Dusan Tadic a penalty.

United also needed a superb double save from Andre Onana to parry En-Nesyri’s two headers and maintain the lead at the break.

The deficit was wiped out within four minutes of the restart when sloppier defending allowed En-Nesyri to head home Allan Saint-Maximin’s inviting cross.

Fenerbahce were furious moments later when a penalty appeal for a foul on Bright Osayi-Samuel was rejected.

Mourinho went too far in his protests as he was dismissed by experienced French referee Clement Turpin.

United have plenty of time to get out of trouble with five more favorable Europa League matches against PAOK, Bodo Glimt, Viktoria Plzen, Rangers and FCSB.

However, whether Ten Hag will continue to lead in all of these games remains a serious doubt after winning just four of United’s first 12 games of the season.