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Manchester United were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fenerbahçe in their Europa League clash on Thursday night.
Having drawn their first two matches of the campaign against FC Twente and Porto, a win would have gone a long way to re-establishing the fans’ faith in Erik ten Hag’s flailing side.
Unfortunately, they lacked the final product that was necessary to get the better of the home side in what was a hostile atmosphere.
While United did well to combat the chorus of boos from the first whistle, they did little with their possession, eventually allowing the home side to take over as the dominant attacking side.
Then, in the 15th minute, United silenced the home crowd against the run of play. Joshua Zirkzee received the ball in the box, passing it back to Christian Eriksen. The Dane unleashed a thunderous shot from distance to hand United the lead.
Although the Turkish club equalised in the second half, Eriksen was one of the few players who truly shone for United, providing them with their only hope of coming away with a vital away win.
In addition to his impressive goal, Eriksen was impeccable with the ball at his feet, completing 42 of 51 passes for an 82% accuracy. He completed two of his four attempted crosses, along with one of four long balls.
Notably, Eriksen supplied four key passes, the most of any player from both teams.
The centre-mid largely stayed clear of physical encounters, winning one of just two ground duels.
When dropping back in support of his defence, Eriksen made one tackle along with a clearance. He was also only dribbled past on one occasion, doing well to hold his position.
Aside from his goal, Eriksen took two shots, one of which was on target and another that was blocked.
One of the few downsides of Eriksen’s performance was his set pieces. While he fired in some threatening crosses from free kicks as well as corners, none of them made contact with their intended recipients. Still, this could be down to poor set-piece tactics and preparedness on Erik ten Hag’s part.
Ultimately, Eriksen was one of the few impressive performers on the field, proving himself to be the rock of United’s midfield. One can only wonder how many more times the Dane will need to rise to the occasion to score one of the club’s sporadic goals.
(Stats via Sofascore)
Featured image Burak Kara via Getty Images
