October 24th 2024.
Former Manchester United player and hero Paul Scholes recently discussed the Europa League draw. He pointed out Manchester United defender Diogo Dalot as the one to blame for their 1-1 draw against Jose Mourinho's Fenerbahce.
As has been the trend this season, United failed to maintain their lead and were held to a third consecutive draw in Europe by Turkish side Fenerbahce. The game started with a strong performance from the visitors, who took the lead through Christian Eriksen's goal in the 15th minute. This dampened the spirits of the home fans, but Fenerbahce quickly regained control of the game and would have equalized if it weren't for a brilliant double-save from United goalkeeper Andre Onana.
However, in the 49th minute, Fenerbahce's Youssef En-Nesyri scored a leveller with a well-placed header from a cross by former Newcastle United winger, Allan Saint-Maximin. Scholes, who is now a Manchester United legend, criticized Diogo Dalot's defending for the goal, stating that the Portuguese international is often too lax in his marking of wingers.
"I think Dalot's guilty of that quite a bit," Scholes said on TNT Sports. "You know exactly what Saint-Maximin is going to do in that situation. He [Dalot] needs to show more urgency, get out to him because you know they've got a dangerous player in the box. It's a great ball in and he's not going to miss from there, but Dalot doesn't do that enough."
Despite acknowledging that Dalot has been one of the better players for United this season, Scholes believes he needs to improve on this aspect of his game. He also pointed out that United should have done better in the home game against Twente, as they were held to a disappointing draw.
Assessing United's overall performance, Scholes stated that the draw was a decent result, considering the tough away fixtures against Porto and Fenerbahce. However, he emphasized the need for the team to start winning games in the Europa League, as they currently sit in a precarious position in the group table.
The draw against Fenerbahce leaves Manchester United in 21st place out of 36 teams in the Europa League table, while Mourinho's side is in 14th place. United's current manager, Erik ten Hag, was pleased with his team's performance in Turkey, but admitted that it was disappointing not to secure all three points after taking the lead.
"Fenerbahce are a very good club, with very good fans and some good players," he said. "It would be a very good final. We should keep the ball better in the first half. We should score more goals but to be honest they also created good chances. They gave us some problems. They are a good team with a good manager. It is not a bad point. But we want to win. We want to win every game."
Ten Hag also praised the performance of summer signing Manuel Ugarte, who was singled out by Scholes as having his best game for United so far. "He has to come into the team," Ten Hag said. "The six role is very important. He has to learn how we play. I was happy with his performance today."
Looking ahead, Manchester United will aim to continue their winning momentum from their last game against Brentford when they face West Ham on Sunday. With the Premier League table being tight and competitive, every game is crucial for United's chances of climbing up the table.
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