Mourinho sent off as Fenerbahce battle to earn draw against Manchester United
Fenerbahçe boss José Mourinho won this competition while in charge of United back in 2017, and he was in need of a victory as much as under-pressure counterpart Erik ten Hag.
The Portuguese sent his team out on the front foot, determined to press the visitors who appeared equally content inviting the pressure.
It was a risky approach from the Red Devils, but soaking up the pressure paid dividends on the 15-minute mark when they broke free to take the lead with their first shot.
Manuel Ugarte got the move started by winning possession in the midfield, with the ball eventually finding its way out to Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing.
His cutback found Noussair Mazraoui - surprisingly playing in attacking midfield - then Joshua Zirkzee, who laid back for Christian Eriksen to rifle into the top corner.
Marcus Rashford then came centimetres away from doubling United’s lead after cutting in from the right, but the Yellow Canaries soon reasserted themselves.
The visitors were indebted to Ugarte for preserving the lead as the Uruguayan made a heroic block to deny Dušan Tadić’s goalbound effort, before goalkeeper André Onana made a miraculous double save to keep out a pair of headers from Youssef En-Nesyri.
Just four minutes after the restart however, there was nothing Onana could do to deny En-Nesyri as he headed home from a sumptuous Allan Saint-Maximin cross.
That sent the already vociferous home support into frenzy, and they were up in arms when a penalty wasn’t awarded after Ugarte’s challenge on Bright Osayi-Samuel, with Mourinho’s protestations earning him a red card. Hearts were in mouths moments later when Diogo Dalot burst free on the right, but with three teammates waiting for a tap-in to aim at, the full-back overhit his delivery.
The game was there for the taking for either side heading into the closing stages, though it was Garnacho who looked the most threatening player on the pitch.
His low drive forced a comfortable save from Dominik Livaković before opposite winger Antony was stretchered off, causing a long delay which took the sting out of the contest and ensured the spoils were shared.
It continues a poor start to the UEL for United who’ve now gone 12 months without winning in Europe, while the hosts’ own unbeaten run in this competition continues, though Mourinho’s poor run against former sides extended to just two wins from 18 such matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Christian Eriksen (Manchester United)