Match Coverage
Porto 3-3 Manchester United: Five things noticed as Erik ten Hag’s biggest flaw exposed
Manchester United rescued a point away from home as Harry Maguire helped Erik ten Hag secure a 3-3 draw against FC Porto in the Europa League.
Erik ten Hag chose to start Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund as Manchester United lined up to face FC Porto in their second fixture of the new-look Europa League league table system.
The tie started with Porto having few shots at André Onana’s goal but with no real threat. Minutes later, Rashford capitalised on poor defending from the Liga Portugal side, cutting inside and firing United into the lead, in part due to poor goalkeeping from Diogo Costa.
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Then, just as the 20th minute arrived, Rasmus Højlund had a piece of the action. He shot at Costa from a tight angle and watched as the Portuguese keeper made yet another error, letting the ball slip past him and over the line.
It wasn’t long before Porto had their reply, with Pepe reacting first after following up on an excellent initial save to stop Noussair Mazraoui scoring an own goal. Five minutes later, Samu Omorodion rose above Matthijs de Ligt to head past Onana from close range, and the teams were level.
With Alejandro Garnacho replacing Rashford at half-time, United threw themselves into further trouble as they let Samu notch in his second of the night, sending the home side 3-2 up just five minutes into the second half.
Bruno Fernandes was then sent off for the second game in a row, picking up two yellow cards, with his second being for a high boot in the Porto area as he tried to connect with a cross. United grabbed an equalising goal with just minutes left on the extra time, although celebrations felt somewhat muted considering just how bad the performance was.
Below are five things that we noticed from the tie.
#1 – The perfect start
Rashford and Højlund’s goals in the opening 20 minutes perfectly reacted to the recent losses and draws at Old Trafford.
United could have easily let this game slip away from home, too, but the English winger’s fine form and return to duties for Højlund brilliantly helped the team find their much-needed cutting edge.
It’s disappointing that the side completely collapsed after.
#2 – However… panic mode ensued
Once Porto saw themselves 2-0 down, they immediately reacted by throwing men forward, and United could not cope.
Two goals in five minutes showed that the team seemed to be back in panic mode, unable to defend against the onslaught. Ten Hag will be considerably concerned about this, considering how comfortable the side looked before the 25th minute.
#3 – Conceding too many crosses
United seemed happy to let Porto hammer them with crosses, which is bizarre considering that Lisandro Martínez, who has struggled in the air against big strikers like Samu, is in defence.
It’s hard to distinguish whether Porto’s number of crosses was a tactical concession from Ten Hag as he felt his defence would deal with them or due to Porto’s decision to overload the wide areas as Mazraoui and Dalot drifted infield, but either way, it was not a positive for United.
Conceding a cutback so quickly in the second half further proved that United’s full-backs could not deal with Porto’s wide attack. They continued to look like a mess even once Porto conceded more possession to protect their lead.
#4 – Lack of instruction is Ten Hag’s biggest flaw
More than anything, it seems as if the players are lost. Once a moment in the game does not go their way, it feels like they don’t understand or maybe don’t even have a backup option, and this becomes easy for opponents to capitalise on.
It feels like this has to be on Ten Hag. United looks like there is a lack of a clear plan and structure for the team to succeed. Even if Ten Hag provides one in training, the message is not getting through, and this is ultimately his biggest flaw.
#5 – André Onana deserves his praise
With Fernandes sent off two games in a row, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the entire United squad has been performing horribly, but this has not been the case for Onana.
The goalkeeper was the only reason the tie did not reach five or six goals against Tottenham, and against Porto, he made multiple huge saves to give United even the slightest chance in the tie, which Maguire then took with just minutes left on the clock.
He’s pulling his weight and some in 2024/25 following all the criticism he received last season.
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