It was inevitable that the spotlight would fall on him once again. Nearly six years after being dismissed by Manchester United, José Mourinho was shown a red card against his former club for protesting when he believed his Fenerbahce side should have been awarded a penalty. However, he still witnessed them salvage a point thanks to Youssef En-Nesyri's equalizer after they had initially fallen behind to Christian Eriksen's opener.
The result – a third consecutive draw in this competition – leaves Erik ten Hag's side sandwiched between Viktoria Pilzen and Elfsborg in the playoff positions of the Europa League. This was on a night when the Dutchman had surprisingly decided to deploy Noussair Mazraoui in an unconventional attacking role. The United manager will highlight a significantly improved performance from a team that had conceded 17 goals in their last five away matches in Europe, although it could have been worse had Mourinho's appeals not been disregarded.
Having lost 3-0 here under Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2004, at least United emerged relatively unscathed this time – unlike their former employee. Ten Hag has described this competition as “a big target for us” this season, but he surprised everyone with his starting lineup by choosing Mazraoui to replace the suspended captain Bruno Fernandes as No 10. The Moroccan – who occasionally played in that role under the Dutchman at Ajax – was one of four changes from United's victory over Brentford at the weekend, with Victor Lindelöf, Manuel Ugarte, and Joshua Zirkzee also brought in.
This meant that Rasmus Højlund had to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring the winner against Brentford, with Ten Hag acknowledging that the Denmark striker “needs to build his fitness” after returning from injury. There were familiar faces not just in the away dugout, with ex-United midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat among several former Premier League players in the Fenerbahce team. This city has rarely been hospitable to the visitors over the years, dating back to the infamous “Welcome to Hell” game against Galatasaray in 1993.
Some United fans sustained minor injuries on Wednesday night when they were targeted by some of Fenerbahce's ultras, and it was an intimidating atmosphere at a venue where they have only won once before – back in October 1996 when David Beckham and Eric Cantona both scored in a 2-0 win. United had clearly been instructed to try to quieten the home crowd but could have fallen behind early on when former Queens Park Rangers full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel opted to shoot from a tight angle rather than pass. André Onana then had to be alert to push away a cross from Sebastian Szymanski as the hosts started to build up momentum with Mourinho prowling his technical area.
But his mood only soured when United went ahead through Eriksen's smart finish following a quick break involving Alejandro Garnacho, Mazraoui, and Zirkzee. The home fans and their manager felt that there had been two fouls in the buildup, but referee Clément Turpin disagreed. Marcus Rashford was inches away from doubling United's lead after wriggling into the area, but it required an unbelievable block from Ugarte to deny Dusan Tadic after Onana fumbled a cross straight to him, leaving the open goal gaping. The Fenerbahce fans couldn't believe their luck when Onana pulled off two brilliant saves – the first reminiscent of Gordon Banks against Brazil – to deny En-Nesyri with headers from close range as their side finished the half positively.
Mourinho's reaction to the double save saw the Portuguese rub his eyes in disbelief, and he took a moment to congratulate the Cameroon goalkeeper in the tunnel as he went out for the second half. But Onana could do nothing about En-Nesyri's equalizer after Allan Saint-Maximin found space on the left flank and delivered a pinpoint cross to the Moroccan's forehead. Ten Hag responded by abandoning his Mazraoui experiment and throwing on Højlund and Casemiro, but the game's moment of controversy arrived soon after.
Osayi-Samuel went down under a heavy challenge from Ugarte, but Turpin waved away the protests. Mourinho looked shocked when he was shown a red card for protesting, and it took an age for him to leave the pitch before taking his place in the stands. Rashford was then guilty of an embarrassing airshot after being set up by Diogo Dalot's strong run when it looked certain he would restore United's lead. They looked much more dangerous with the more orthodox lineup that finished the game but couldn't create much despite the best attempts of Garnacho.
An injury to Antony that forced the substitute to be taken off on a stretcher with his hands over his face will concern Ten Hag, given that he was without 10 senior players on a night that Mourinho once more showed his true colors.
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