Reaction
Match report
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Mourinho is putting the blame squarely on the players: “I think they deserved to win. Football is not just about quality, it’s also about effort, commitment, playing to the limits and giving everything. A team that concedes a goal after two minutes is a team that is not ready, not prepared, not concentrated .. it’s our fault. After their second goal we had a reaction but we didn’t deserve more because football is 90 minutes and it is to be played at the maximum of your desire, concentration and capacity ... At the start it was like they were playing the Champions League final and we were playing a sumer friendly. That’s the reality.”
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“I’m a City fan but I would not wish this on my worst enemy,” says William Corkhill. “United players are just not interested. It’s kind of depressing. I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
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Full-time: Fenerbahce 2-1 Manchester United
Three superb goals but only one winner and it wasn’t United, who now have an uphill task to make it out of the group stages. They will need to summon a lot more creativity to get the points they need from their remaining games and, indeed, to make any further inroads on the Premier League. They were woeful at the back but most of the problem was in midfield, where there was too much clutter and too little fluency, both before and after Pogba departed with an unspecified injury. Ibrahimovic and Rooney get in the way too often. They are stunting the growth of Rashford and Martial.
Until Mourinho finds a solution, best get used to more of this sort of thing:
@Paul_Doyle just like Newcastle i reckon it would be beneficial for Man Utd if they got relegated and started over
— Asha (@Melatomin) November 3, 2016
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90+3 min: Mkhitaryan fires over a corner. The keeper claims.
90+2 min: Corner to United. Mata sends over an outswinger. Rooney, suddenly rejuvenated, leaps high and sticks a good header on it, forcing Ismail to head off the line for another corner.
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90 min: United have four minutes to punish Fener for failing to take any of the chances they had to make it 3-0 ....
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GOAL! Fenerbahce 2-1 United (Rooney 89)
That’s a superb goal! Rooney received the ball about 28 yards out, turned his man and then lashed it into the top corner past a despairing dive. A bolt from the blue! A blast from the past!
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Fener substitution: Ismail on, Sow off.
84 min: Martial tries a different approach - a direct shot from 25+ yards - but gets nowhere near the target.
83 min: Zorya Luhansk are still holding 10-man Feyenoord to a 1-1. United are still trying to pick a dainty pattern through Fenerbahce despite having no success whatsoever so far.
80 min: “Your little stats graphic thingamajig says United already have two whole shots on goal,” carps Matthew Turner. Really, I can’t remember them. Obviously either one or both of us is making stuff up, it’s up to you to try to figure out which. Kinda like the US presidential election.
79 min: Fener rip United apart again! United just can’t handle their pace. Lens again got in down the right and Mehmet Topal found him with an easy pass. Lens then flashed the ball across the face of goal and Emenike hurled himself at it and missed by millimetres!
77 min: Anyone want to give me odds on Fenerbahce scoring a third goal before United manage their first shot on target?
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76 min: Emenike rasps one at De Gea from 20 yards and the goalkeeper needs two attempts to hold it. United’s central defenders, meanwhile, have no idea how to contain Emenike.
75 min: Rooney drops deep, collects the ball and attempts a spectacular crossfield pass, which is intercepted. Yes, I did just cut and paste that from previous entries.
75 min: Mata chops down Alper to abort another Fener counter-attack. The ensuing yellow card is richly deserved.
73 min: Ibrahimovic tries to blem the freekick into the net from nigh-on 30 yards. But he barely gets the ball off the ground and the wall whack it clear.
71 min: Skrtel booked for catching a United player from behind for old time’s sake. It was Ibrahimovic, as it happened.
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69 min: United are opened up with embarrassing ease! Lens galloped forward down the right as Shaw was stranded up field. As soon as the Dutchman got the ball he took a touch and crossed to Emenike, who got away from Rojo and Blind with absurd ease and should have made it 3-0. But his first touch was gauche and De Gea was able to bundle the ball away.
Fener substitution: Emenike on, Sen off.
66 min: Rooney drops deep to collect a pass. He looks up and flights a cross to Ibrahimovic, who takes it down on his thigh and then tries to wow his way past three defenders. He fails.
64 min: In this group’s other match, Zorya Luhansk are currently holding Feyenoord to 1-1 so there may be at least some good news for United today.
United substitution: Mkhitaryan on, Rashford off. Mourinho turns to Mkhitaryan as a last resort.
GOAL! Fenerbahce 2-0 United (Lens 59)
It’s another beauty, and another shot that takes De gea by surprise! Lens curls a sumptuous shot around the wall and just inside the post, as De Gea watches in impotent dismay! The curl and power from a short run-up left him befuddled.
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59 min: Ibrahimovic chases Mehmet Topal and then tugs him back several yards outside the United area. Freekick in a dangerous position...
58 min: Martial - United’s sharpest attacker so far - skins his man down the left and fires in a flow cross. It’s cleared as far as Mata, whose quick slapshot from 14 yards whizzes a couple of yards wide.
57 min: Alper booked for persistently irritating behaviour.
55 min: Martial cuts in from the left and clips a decent cross into the box. Rooney gets a glancing header on it about 10 yards out but fails to direct it on target.
53 min: Don’t wish to labour the point ... but that’s exactly what Rooney and Ibrahimovic are doing. They’re just getting in the way and slowing things down for United. It’s no good having them as notional strikers while Martial and Rashford are marginalised on the flanks. Mourinho must see this.
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50 min: Darmian, who has zoomed forward regularly down the right, joins in another attack but concedes a freekick by leaping on Sen’s back in an effort to meet a waffly pass by Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic and Rooney are both dropping deep and masquerading as playmakers in the hope that it will hide their lack of sharpness up front. They’re jamming the system for United.
48 min: The early stages of the second period mirror most of the first: United probing but unable to pick a way through the well-organised and energetic Turkish defence.
United substitution: Mata on, Schneiderlin off.
Half-time: Fenerbahce 1-0 United
Sow gave the hosts an early lead with a wonderful goal and United have created only one real chance to equalise since then, and it was botched by Rooney. Ibrahimovic has made a difference since replacing the injured and ineffective Pogba mid-way through the half but not as much as United need and not really in the way he should. An in-form Mkhitaryan pulling strings in midfield is notably missing.
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45 min: Alper swings over a cross from the right. Sow outjumps Blind and heads over from seven yards. Unitd have had most of the ball, but Fener have created more chances.
42 min: Rooney arrives late for a tackle and gives Souza a pretext to jump to the ground. There was barely any contact but wholesale finger-wagging and jostling ensues between a handful of players from both sides. The ref shakes his head and separates the brats before booking Volkan, the Fener goalkeeper who had charged out of his box to join in the aggro.
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40 min: Rooney goes down under an ugly challenge, then Ibrahimovic jabs a leg at Kjaer and grabs him by the face as tempers rise. Not sure what riled Ibrahimovic so much - perhaps the tackle on Rooney - but mounting niggle is adding to the spectacle, that’s for sure.
38 min: A lofted pass down the left finds Ali, who has got in behind Rashford, who was back covering for Darmian. One dangerous cross is followed by another after the tricky Lens outfoxes Shaw, but then the danger is cleared.
35 min: It’s attack v massed home defence as Fener protect their lead and United search in vain for a way through. There are hints that they are getting closer. The key is tempo.
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33 min: Better from United! Darmian showed quick thinking and determination to nick the ball off a dawdling home player mid-way inside the Fener half. He passed to Ibrahimovic, who helped it on, eventually, to Rashford. The youngster pinged in a low cross that put the keeper in a lot of difficulty but Fener eventually escape with just a corner.
United substitution: Ibrahimovic on, Pogba off. The Frenchman has limped off with an as yet unspecified injury. Ibrahimovic will play up top while Rooney will presumably drop deeper. Mourinho’s luck isn’t getting any better: two of his four main summer signings are now injured (Pogba and Bailly), one is looking close to expiry and the other (Mkhitaryan) is seemingly defective for some reason.
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26 min: Martial has come into a central position several times to good effect, finding pockets behind Rooney picking some nice passes.
24 min: Sen has gone off for a spot of treatment.
21 min: A lovely disguised pass by Martial finds Rooney right in front of goal, 18 yards out. It’s United’s best chance so far, by miles, and the Rooney of yesteryear would have lashed the ball into the net without even thinking. Instead he takes a terribly oafish touch and the ball runs away from him, the chance dies, and we are left with nothing but a feeling of sadness. It’s no fun seeing Rooney so far away from what he used to be. Wonder whether Rashford, marooned on the left wing, is thinking something similar.
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18 min: Herrera chops down Souza in midfield to earn the first booking of the match. He’s already missing the Sunday’s match at Swansea because of suspension so he needs to calm down, the notorious hatchetman.
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16 min: Schneiderlin spanks a nice ball out wide to Rashford, who tries to pop it in-field to Martial. But, as ever, as soon as a United player threatens to gain possession around the box several defenders crowd him out. United are going to have to pay with more pace and accuracy to break through.
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14 min: Darmian delivers a cross from the right. Rooney had his back to goal and the ball comes at him at about chest height .... will he do a Sow? No, he tries to take it down and loses possession because of a heavy touch.
12 min: Zippy interplay between Lens and Alper down the right. Lens reaches the byline and then tries to jink past Schneiderlin and into the box. The Frenchman brings him down and the crowd demand a penalty, but the ref correctly rules that the foul was just outside the box. Freekick to the hosts in a good crossing position. But it yields nothing. Fener’s counter-attacking threat has been made clear, however.
10 min: United have seen plenty of the ball over the last couple of minutes and forced Fener to defend in numbers. They’re probing earnestly but have not been able to create a clear opening yet. A snap shot by Rashford from 20 yards drifted way wide.
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8 min: Rooney’s outswigning corner is headed clear by Sow at the front post. There was no United player there so no sure who Rooney was aiming for.
7 min: Shaw wins a freekick wide on the left for United. Herrera’s delivery is headed behind for a corner.
5 min: That really was the best possible start for the home team - Sow’s goal was exceptionally good - and it’s infused them with extra pep. They began brightly enough as it was, but now they’re fizzing all over the pitch, looking quicker and sharper than United, who’ve got a real job on their hands now.
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GOAL! Fenerbahce 1-0 United (Sow 2)
An outrageous overhead kick from 16 yards by the Senegalese striker! Ali crossed from the left and Sow stunned everyone by falling backwards and hooking the over his head and into the net! De Gea was taken utterly by surprise by an extraordinary finish.
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1 min: Fener kick off. United soon gain possession - the crowd try to put them off with lusty boos and whistling.
The home crowd are making a menacing din despite the fact that one corner of the ground is entirely empty, apparently because of support discontent.
Here comes the players, toddling out of the tunnel like human-shaped bullets from the barrel of a toy gun. United are in red tops and black nether garments, while Fenerbahce are in white shorts and stockings with black and yellow shirts.
Jose Mourinho has just have a chinwag with BT’s Des Kelly. Here’s what he said, firstly with regard to the atmosphere in the stadium today:
“It’s a great motivation for the home players for sure, Turkish teams are always better at hoe than away. But for professionals, Man United players, the atmopshere is to be enjoyed and not something to be afraid of. So let’s go.
Re: defensive injuries and Phil Jones’ readiness:
“We are a bit in trouble. The injuries are not easy ones, they are all in the same area – three defenders. But the boys have coped well in the last two matches, with two clean sheets, and we have Phil Jones making an effort to try to be ready in case we have another emergency.”
Re: the importance of the Europa League:
“it is the second competition of the season for us. The first is the Premier League. This is another opportunity to try to win a trophy and try to play Champion League next season.”
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Jose Mourinho evidently remains unconvinced about Mkhitaryan’s worthiness of a starting place for reasons that remain unclear, but it’s good to see Schneiderlin getting another outing. He used to be a fine player. Darmian is another with a chance to seize, although Antonio Valencia has been one of United’s most reliable performers so far this season. Pogba has presumably been kept in the starting lineup because the manager figures he needs as many games as possible to hone his role in the team. Rooney has been included to attract a bid in January (joke!) and Martial could do with getting his groove back. Central defence has the makings of a good sketch. Let’s see what Fenebahce can do with it.
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Teams
Fener: Volkan; Sener, Kjaer, Skrtel, Hasan Ali; Josef, Mehmet Topal, Alper; Lens, Sow, Sen
Subs: Fabiano, Van Persie, Koybasi, Emenike, Neustadter, Ucan, Stoch
United: De Gea; Darmian, Blind, Rojo, Shaw; Schneiderlin, Herrera, Pogba; Martial, Rooney, Rashford
Subs: Romero, Jones, Fellaini Mata, Mkhitaryan, Young, Ibrahimovic
Referee: M Mazic (Serbia)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to a dicey match for Manchester United. They strolled past Fenerbahce at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago but the Turkish side are a different beast at home, as United know well thanks to previous defeats there. The last one was back in 2004 when United featured David Bellion, Liam Miller, Eric Djemba-Djemba and a seemingly hopeless defender called Gerard Piqué. Undeterred by that precedent – because Sunday’s Premier League trip to Swansea is more important - Jose Mourinho may omit several regular starters today, though he’ll not be so cavalier as to include Memphis Depay, who’s sitting on the naughty step back in Manchester.
A win for United would not clinch qualification for the next round but would make it probable, and that is not to be sniffed at given that the Europa League could be their best chance of reaching next season’s Champions League. You’ll know today’s lineup just as soon as we do, then we’ll reconvene for further discussions.
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