Fenerbahce vs Manchester United live updates: Europa League ...
Fenerbahce line-up: Livakovic; Muldur, Djiku, Soyuncu, Osayi-Samuel; Amrabat; Tadic, Fred, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri.
Manchester United line-up: Onana; Dalot, Lindelof, De Ligt, Martinez; Ugarte, Eriksen; Garnacho, Mazraoui, Rashford; Zirkzee.
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Interesting that UEFA have Noussair Mazraoui as a No 10... with Rasmus Hojlund, Casemiro, Amad on the bench.
This will be the two sides' seventh competitive meeting, with three wins each and zero draws in the previous six.
After United won 2-0 in Istanbul in the Champions League in 1996 (David Beckham and Eric Cantona with the goals), Fenerbahce got their revenge as they won 1-0 at Old Trafford thanks to Elvir Bolic's winner.
That historic result marked United's first ever European loss on home soil. Since then, other memorable meetings include:
Wayne Rooney scoring a hat-trick on debut in a 6-2 winTuncay Sanli scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win in the reverse fixtureAnd United title-winner Robin van Persie being applauded by home fans as he scored the consolation goal in a 4-1 United winLaurie Whitwell/The Athletic
This is from The Athletic's man on the ground Laurie Whitwell in Istanbul earlier.
He's currently set up inside the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium and will be providing live updates throughout the match.
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Many United fans will be fearing the worst this evening, particularly with Mourinho sat in the opposition dugout.
But they can take some solace from the Portuguese manager's dismal record against his former clubs.
Mourinho has won just two of his last 17 games against sides he has managed previously.
That said, one of those victories was Tottenham's 6-1 win against United at Old Trafford just over four years ago.
Rotational changes, with Joshua Zirkzee coming in up front for Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte for Casemiro in midfield, and Victor Lindelof for Jonny Evans in defence, feel fairly safe swaps.
But how has Erik ten Hag responded to the suspension of key attacking midfielder Bruno Fernandes? By bringing in an extra full-back.
It appears as if it will be a back five, with Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot at wing-back, and Lindelof alongside Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez, the latter back in a more familiar left-sided centre-back position.
Or maybe Ten Hag has a back four, Mazraoui at right wing, Zirkzee at No 10, and Rashford up front. We'll find out soon enough!
An interesting line-up from Jose Mourinho.
In for the injured full-back Jayden Oosterwolde is Bright Osayi-Samuel, once of QPR, who despite usually being a right-back, looks like he is filling in on the left tonight.
Ex-Leicester hard man Caglar Soyuncu is in for Rodrigo Becao at centre-half, while the other two changes see former Newcastle wideman Allan Saint-Maximin in on the left wing for Filip Kostic and Youssef En-Nesyri replace Edin Dzeko up front.
Dzeko, of course, represented Manchester United's fierce rivals Manchester City for five seasons, winning two Premier League titles, an FA Cup, and a League Cup.
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We are a little way into the second half in each of today's early Europa League matches — here are the scores on the doors in those games:
Eintracht Frankfurt 0-0 RFSMidtjylland 1-0 Union Saint-GilloiseFerencvaros 1-0 NiceMaccabi Tel-Aviv 0-1 Real SociedadPAOK 0-2 Viktoria PlzenQarabag FK 0-1 AjaxRoma 1-0 Dynamo KievErik ten Hag has been without his first-choice left-backs, Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia, for most of 2024. The ensuing months have caused Ten Hag to get inventive with his selections (with varying results).
The early sections of 2024-25 have seen Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui operating at left-back. Mazraoui's minor surgery over the international break presented another muddle for Ten Hag, but luckily, Lisandro Martinez was there to answer the call.
The Argentina international moved from his best position at centre-back to help soothe United’s issues at left-back and performed ably. But is it more than a short-term fix for United?
It appears as if Martinez will play at left-sided centre-back in a back three this evening against Fenerbahce. Dive deeper below.
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Does Lisandro Martinez at left-back work as more than a short-term fix for Manchester United?
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While Jose Mourinho has gone with the following squad against his former side.
Fenerbahce (4-1-4-1): Livakovic; Muldur, Djiku, Soyuncu, Osayi-Samuel; Amrabat; Tadic, Fred, Szymanski, Saint-Maximin; En-Nesyri.
Substitutes: Egribayat, Cetin; Akaydin, Becao, Akcicek, Yuksek, Yandas, Dursun, Tograk, Kahveci, Dzeko, Tosun.
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Erik ten Hag's line-up for tonight is as follows.
Manchester United (3-4-3): Onana; Lindelof, De Ligt, Martinez; Mazraoui, Ugarte, Eriksen, Dalot; Garnacho, Zirkzee, Rashford.
Substitutes: Bayindir, Heaton; Amass, Ogunneye, Casemiro, Amad, Antony, Hojlund, Wheatley.
Since Jose Mourinho was appointed manager of Istanbul-based Turkish side Fenerbahce in June, it's been classic Jose Mourinho: all about him. Which is not exactly surprising.
A crowd north of 30,000 showed up at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium for Mourinho’s unveiling. He told the crowd: “I promise you from this moment, I belong to your family. This shirt is my skin.” It was a suitably intense introduction but that feels a long time ago.
Mourinho goes into perhaps the highest-profile game of his tenure, at home against former employers Manchester United in the Europa League, way off the pace in the league, under pressure due to results and playing style, and having annoyed a succession of people.
His first Fenerbahce season has not, you’re unlikely to be shocked to learn, been quiet. Read more below.
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Jose Mourinho at Fenerbahce – Laptop protest, disrespect … and Manchester United next
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In typical Mourinho fashion, reporters were kept on their toes as they faced the Fenerbahce manager in his pre-match press conference.
And he was actually rather complimentary of Manchester United, claiming that they are a better team than their recent results suggest.
“I’m not playing (mind games). They have a better team than the results are showing,” he said. “They haven’t lost (in the Europa League this season). To get a point in Porto is not easy for anybody.
“Of course, the world expected United to beat Twente, especially at Old Trafford. But it was a difficult game... the potential of the team is high. I think they are in a stable situation. I think we are going to play against one of the two strongest teams in the competition.”
GO FURTHER
Jose Mourinho defends Manchester United, jokes about 2017-18 Premier League win
...just, you suspect, as he likes it. The firebrand, media-friendly Portuguese boss joined Fenerbahce this summer after leaving previous club Roma in January.
He has won eight, drawn four, and lost two of his 14 matches so far in charge, with his side already eight points behind bitter rivals Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig table, though they have a game in hand.
Some stories from around The Athletic on Mourinho to whet your appetite:
Here, Nick Miller wrote about his debut, with seven goals, several outbursts and a strange bit of artworkHere, you can read James Horncastle's piece on his controversial comments after exiting the Champions LeagueAnd check out what Brighton's summer signing Ferdi Kadioglu learned from Mourinho here
Fenerbahce, now managed by Jose Mourinho, will be as loud as Galatasaray was last season. United lost to a couple of wonder goals on their previous visit in the 2016-17 Europa League group stage… when Mourinho was in charge.
There’s much to love about watching football in Turkey, and Istanbul is fantastic. Fenerbahce are decent – they finished with 99 points last season but still didn’t win the title.
Which opposition player am I most looking forward to watching? There’s this Brazilian bloke called Fred who plays for Fenerbahce. He scored a hat-trick last weekend and could be worth looking at for United.
But seriously…
One of the most memorable stories in English football history, this one.
In October 2004, towards the back end of Manchester United and Arsenal's table-topping rivalry, we saw one of the most explosive — and most controversial — matches of the Premier League era.
Arsenal's 'Invincibles' had gone 49 league matches undefeated before match No 50 took them back to Old Trafford, where their proud record would end in contentious and acrimonious circumstances.
But the match was best remembered for the moment that United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was struck by a flying pizza in a post-match tunnel fracas — and for the mystery that endured for years until the culprit owned up.
This is the story of "Pizzagate" by those who were there and saw it all first-hand — make sure to give it a read below.
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Manchester United, Arsenal and the ‘Battle of the Buffet’ – told by those who were there
The seven games in today's early Europa League slot kicked off a few minutes ago.
For anyone who missed the line-up earlier, those matches are:
Eintracht Frankfurt vs RFSRoma vs Dynamo KievMidtjylland vs Union Saint-GilloiseQarabag FK vs AjaxMaccabi Tel-Aviv vs Real SociedadPAOK vs Viktoria PlzenFerencvaros vs Nice
Fenerbahce were held to a 2-2 draw with Super Lig surprise package Samsunspor on Sunday.
Former Southampton and Ajax man Dusan Tadic and crackerjack ex-Newcastle winger Allan Saint-Maximin scored the goals for Mourinho's side either side of Carlo Holse's equaliser.
Fenerbahce looked as though they would hold on for the three points, but Soner Aydogdu ensured Samsunspor would take a share of them with an 88th-minute equaliser.
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When Brentford were playing through Manchester United’s press in the first 20 minutes on Saturday, it felt like Groundhog Day for Erik ten Hag’s team.
Another game where their organisation off the ball was questionable and the lack of ideas in possession was limiting their attacks. Yet, as it turned out, United showed another side of themselves.
After looking porous in midfield throughout the first half and conceding the opening goal from a Brentford corner, United upped their intensity after the break and scored twice to claim a 2-1 victory.
Read more below
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Manchester United finally ignited their attack against Brentford – this is how
Manchester United were in action on Saturday in the Premier League, and it was a crucial win.
With manager Erik ten Hag under increasing pressure, a loss would have further ratcheted up the tension in and around the club.
Yet despite getting angry about conceding to an Ethan Pinnock header in first-half stoppage time, United turned the game around in the second half. Alejandro Garnacho equalised two minutes after half-time and Rasmus Hojlund put his side in front a quarter of an hour later.
It gave Ten Hag some respite, but only moved United up to 12th in the Premier League. Eesh.
GO FURTHER
Manchester United 2 Brentford 1: Ten Hag safe – for now – after De Ligt controversy
