Manchester United could only manage a point against 4th-ranked Dutch side FC Twente; a result that will put serious pressure on manager Erik Ten Hag.
United started brightly enough and went ahead through a Cristian Eriksen screamer, but couldn’t take more of their chances. The Dutch side grew into the game in the second half and deservedly equalised after Eriksen gave the ball away. There was something of a late United rally but not enough quality to create clear-cut chances and a draw was probably a fair result.
Another promising start
As was the case against Crystal Palace and – to a lesser extent – Liverpool, United started the match brightly. After a Diogo Dalot mistake led to an early chance that Sam Lammers steered wide, United had plenty of bright moments and very nearly went ahead from a deflected Lisandro Martinez knockdown – goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall making an excellent fingertip save.
Rashford and Zirkzee looked to be combining well, with the Englishman penetrating down the left, and Zirkzee providing plenty of deft, intelligent layoffs and forward passes
Those two, along with Bruno, were part of an intense three-man press that was causing problems, and Twente were finding it hard to get out at times; ceding the lion’s share of possession to United.
The opening goal felt inevitable, and it was Bruno’s pass to Dalot that led to a block and Eriksen’s chance from inside the area, which he dispatched with a quality, first-time finish on 35 minutes. United cruised into half-time and it looked like an easy evening’s work.
A poor second half
The second half actually started quite well for United, with Marcus Rashford in particular looking dangerous, but the final ball was often lacking and clear-cut chances were few and far between. Harry Maguire going close from a corner.
Twente were growing into the game without having too many big chances, Andre Onana saved well from a Sam Steijn free kick, the foul itself landing Martinez a booking. Twente had a series of dangerous corners and the Old Trafford fauthful were starting to fear the worst.
Ten Hag clearly felt United needed more impetus and switched the largely ineffective Amad Diallo for Garnacho. However, after a good Ugarte tackle a minute later, Cristian Eriksen dithered on the ball and got robbed by Sam Lammers, who was through clean on goal and swept home at the near post.
The goal emboldened the Dutch side and the game became more even and stretched, with both sides having dangerous moments without creating clear-cut chances.
Mount, Hojlund and Mainoo came on for Zirkzee, Rashford and Eriksen as United again wrested control of the match back; Bruno and Garnacho again going close. But it was too little, too late and despite the late rally, we didn’t really look convincing going forward, and the draw felt like the right result in the end.
Cue wild celebrations from the FC Twente fans and storm clouds gathering over the beleagured Ten Hag.
Player Ratings & MOTM
Onana – 6.5. Didn’t have too much to do, but could have covered near post better for the goal. Distribution looked really good.
Dalot – 6. Generally solid but a mistake almost led to Twente taking the lead early on.
Maguire – 6.5. Won most of his duels and headers but could have done better in the build-up to the Twente goal.
Martinez – 6.5. Plenty of robust defending and decent on the ball. Picked up his customary yellow card.
Mazraoui – 7. Looked really composed and positioning was very good. Passing a little awry at first but generally a solid performance.
Eriksen – 6.5. Looked great in the first half and took his goal superbly. Was at fault for the Twente goal and didn’t last the 90 minutes.
Ugarte – 6.5. Passing a little awry at times but he has been brought in to do a defensive job, and he dod that pretty well. A decent debut in difficult circumstances.
Fernandes – 5. Had a hand in the goal but often wasteful in possession – looks like he could do with a break.
Diallo – 6. Energetic on the ball in the first half but didn’t have much impact and was subbed in the second half.
Rashford 7.5 & MOTM. Looked really dangerous, especially first half, giving Twente all sorts of problems down their right and combining well with Zirkzee. Didn’t threaten the goal too much but attacking play looked sharp.
Zirkzee – 6.5. Looked good again and was unlucky not to score on a couple of occasions, producing decent saves from the Twente keeper. Influenced waned in the second half and was replaced by Rasmus Hojlund.
Subs:
Garnacho (on for Amad on 67′) – 6.5. Looked the brightest out of the subs but couldn’t make anything concrete happen.
Hojlund (on for Zirkzee on 79′) – 5. Little involvement of note.
Mount (on for Diallo on 79′) – 5. Unable to impact the game.
Mainoo (on for Eriksen on 79′) – 6. Looked good on the ball but unable to make much happen in a short space of time.
Looking ahead
United have 3 difficult games before the next international break: Spurs at Old Trafford on Sunday, and then Villa and Porto away.
You’d have to think that something like 5 points (a win and two draws) would be a bare minimum to keep the fanbase and the ownership happy, coupled with good performances. If we play like we did last night, we could well lose all 3 games and Ten Hag could lose his job.
The focus switches back to the league on Sunday against Spurs; a team who we typically do well against at Old Trafford. A big performance and result here would do wonders for our season, and you can’t help thinking that the manager’s future is linked, at least in part, to this massive game.