Match Report: Manchester United 1-1 FC Twente | OneFootball

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw with FC Twente in their opening Europa League match – a disappointing result given the dominance exhibited by Erik ten Hag’s team throughout in front of the Old Trafford crowd.

Man United produced an upbeat performance at the start, applying pressure to the visitors in the final third and cutting out their passes, albeit unable to launch a counter-attack of their own.

United’s first shot of the match came in the sixth minute when Joshua Zirkzee received the ball from Bruno Fernandes and swivelled before taking a shot with his left foot. It was a soft effort, however, which the goalkeeper saved with ease.

Twente’s first corner of the match was ineffective, veering past the box, however, they soon recovered the ball, with striker Sam Lammers slotting the ball just inches wide of the far post. While Andre Onana was well-positioned to block the striker, United’s defence were caught sleeping – a cause for concern so early in the encounter.

13 minutes in, United appeared to be in on a counter when Zirkzee chipped a through ball to Amad Diallo. Max Bruns was subsequently booked as he was adjudged to bring Amad down without the ball.

United looked dangerous again in the 18th minute when Amad intercepted the ball from Anass Salah-Eddine on the wing and ran into the box. His pass found Zirkzee, who was unable to connect well with the ball. Following several deflections, the ball fell to Christian Eriksen, whose shot was blocked as well.

Despite a lack of quality finishing, it was the home side who appeared more likely to take the lead if they were to continue applying pressure.

Twente came close to scoring an own goal in the 25th minute when Lisandro Martinez’s header rebounded off a defender’s leg and headed for the top right corner, forcing a superb full-stretch save from goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall.

35 minutes in, United found a well-deserved breakthrough. Christian Eriksen thumped a thunderous shot from the edge of the box to the far post that the keeper had no chance of saving. A brilliant piece of play from Eriksen to hand United the lead before half-time.

Five minutes from the break, Noussair Mazraoui took an opportune shot from the wing that the keeper was alert enough to see coming.

As the half-time whistle blew, United could be satisfied with what was a dominant first-half performance.

After the restart, United came out swinging, with Harry Maguire attempting a cracking volley off a corner that the keeper caught.

In the 57th minute, Martinez was booked for a late challenge. Suddenly, he needed to show more caution in order to avoid an early shower.

Twente took a solid shot off the free kick, which was headed for the far corner of the net. Fortunately, Onana had his eye on the ball and managed to parry the shot out for a corner, which resulted in a goal kick.

With 24 minutes to go, Alejandro Garnacho replaced Amad Diallo, adding fresh legs to the right wing.

Barely a moment later, disaster struck. Ricky van Wolfswinkel ran through a handful of United players, leaving them with no chance to intercept him. While Eriksen collected the ball, the moment he turned, he was dispossessed by Lammers, who ran into the box and blasted the ball into the net.

Going into the final 15 minutes, United appeared depleted, with Salah-Eddine taking a threatening shot from the side that Onana did well to save.

Still, they weren’t about to give in, with Zirkzee taking a strong left-footed shot to force a save and a corner. While Maguire’s subsequent header hit a defender, the referee bizarrely awarded a goal kick.

12 minutes from time, Ten Hag decided to make three substitutions. Zirkzee made way for Mason Mount, who marked his return from injury, while Rasmus Hojlund replaced Rashford. A fatigued Eriksen was taken off for Kobbie Mainoo.

In the 80th minute, Fernandes took a snapshot from the edge of the box that veered wide of the far post. It was an agonisingly close attempt from a visibly frustrated Fernandes.

As the match was drawing to a close, United showed little creativity on the attack, attempting to use the same passing lanes repeatedly and proving predictable for the Twente defence to handle.

With four minutes of stoppage time announced, there was still time for United to find a winner. The question was whether or not they could come up with an alternate plan to take the visitors by surprise.

Two minutes into stoppage time, United were inches from scoring. Maguire got on the end of a corner, directing a well-struck header goalward that the keeper managed to tip away just inches from the goal line.

On the stroke of full-time, United won a free kick that Fernandes struck at the keeper.

Seconds later, the referee drew the match to a close. A disappointing result for a clearly dominant United side. Yet again, a lack of firepower up front remained at the forefront of United’s woes.

Starting XI: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford, Zirkzee, Eriksen, Amad, Dalot, Ugarte Subs: Garnacho, Mount, Hojlund, Mainoo

Feature image Michael Regan via Getty Images

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