Harry Maguire saves Man United’s blushes but Red Devils remain European football’s reigning bottle jobs | OneFootball

Manchester United were left lamenting another lost lead as they drew 3-3 with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Erik ten Hag was rewarded for winning the FA Cup in the summer with a new contract, when his future had been in doubt. It was a decision which split opinion among Man United fans, and with every passing game this season, more seem to enter the camp of wanting Ten Hag to leave.

It’s been a tough season for Man United so far. Including the Community Shield, Man United have won just three of their opening 10 games across all competitions. It sees them 13th in the Premier League and with just two points from their opening two Europa League games.

In the Europa League, Man United have picked up from where they left off in the Champions League last season. And that’s not a good thing.

Last season, Man United were dumped out of the Champions League in the group stage. They finished bottom of their group with four points from their six games, losing four.

Losing four alone is bad enough. But the real damning stat is the fact that Man United were dropping points from losing positions. They led twice against Galatasaray in their 2-3 defeat at Old Trafford, twice in their 4-3 loss away to FC Copenhagen, and once in their draw with Galatasaray.

Eight points dropped from losing positions in six games. It was the joint-most in the Champions League last season, alongside Napoli and Union Berlin. And when you combine the Champions League and Europa League since the start of last season, Man United are now unrivalled.

That’s because there have been two more lost leads in the Europa League this season. In their first Europa League game this season, the Red Devils led Ten Hag’s former side FC Twente thanks to a goal from Christian Eriksen. Man United led at half-time, but midway through the second half, Sam Lammers equalised. Twente held on for the point, condemning Man United to a fourth consecutive season in which they had failed to win their opening major European match.

This one was worse, even if they did leave Porto with a point. Man United were quick out of the blocks against Porto at the Estadio do Dragao, going 2-0 up within 20 minutes. Marcus Rashford scored the first, making him the third-highest scoring Englishman in UEFA Cup/Europa League history. Rasmus Hojlund got the second, marking his first start of the season with his opening goal.

Within 15 minutes, though, Porto were level. Pepe put the hosts on the board and Samu Omorodion got the equaliser, becoming the second-youngest player to score against Man United in the Europa League. Just a few minutes after half-time, Omorodion got his second, completing the turnaround.

It was the 24th time Man United had conceded at least three goals in a match across all competitions under Ten Hag. Since the Dutchman took charge, no Premier League club had conceded three or more goals in more matches.

Things went from bad to worse as Bruno Fernandes was shown his second red card in as many games. Although the first has been overturned, this one will stand, with Fernandes shown two yellow cards — both for high boots.

Man United looked set for defeat, but Harry Maguire proved to be the captain they needed, heading home a late equaliser. Instant elation, it shouldn’t take away from the poor performance of Man United.

They have now dropped 12 points from winning positions in European football since the start of last season, the most among clubs in the Champions League and Europa League. They have also won just one of their last seven major European matches when scoring the opening goal. And, they’re winless in their last five European matches despite leading by two or more goals in three of them.

“The first 20 minutes were good, after that it was a mess,” Owen Hargreaves told TNT Sports.

“I think that’s the issue. We highlighted before the game that they’ve got goalscoring issues, only scored five in six games in the Premier League. Then today they had defensive issues. At times it looks like they get something sorted, and then something else goes.

“He’s got to find a consistent centre-back partnership. He took off his two starting centre-backs for two that had been there for a really long time, Jonny Evans and Harry Maguire. He’s got to find goals at the top of the pitch, he’s got to find defensive partnerships, he’s got to find a partnership in midfield.

“But again we go back to there being a lot of issues. He’s been there for quite a while now, a lot of that should have been sorted. So I think there’ll be a lot of questions after the game.

“That’s not the level, they need to be consistent.”

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