Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes noticed how Mike Phelan was alert to the impending danger before Demba Ba's opening goal in Istanbul.
United were stunned in the Turkish capital as poor defending afforded Ba acres of room to run into as Basaksehir hit United on the counter-attack.
Poor positioning from United's defenders left them vulnerable and Ba was unmarked, which allowed him to burst forward and beat Dean Henderson.
The threat was identified by Phelan in the build-up and Scholes pointed out his reaction during the half-time analysis on BT Sport, as United's assistant manager appeared to signal to Nemanja Matic that he should drop into a deeper position.
"That's completely down to the organisation from a corner. Surely you always have somebody back on the halfway line," Scholes said on BT Sport. "You can see Mike Phelan on the side actually pointing, saying 'Matic, Matic you should be there'. You're always goalside though.
"It's like under-10s football. One behind, one in front. You can understand if it's last-minute, maybe, if you're going for a goal, but it's what, 15 minutes?
"It's embarrassing. What the back four are doing, I have no idea. I think United are really struggling with them attacking wise. We spoke about the balance of the team before the game, they've gone with one holding today.
"Possession wise and going forward, I think they have been OK but defensively, again with the second goal, they're absolutely all over the place."
