Fenerbache 1
Man Utd 1
United needed a win in Turkey to kick start their Europa League campaign and although it isn’t an easy away match in that cauldron, I honestly believe that this was another winnable match and another lost opportunity for ETH to start giving some substance to this so far dismal season.
I think that pretty much no one expected Mazraoui in midfield but the plan seemed to be working fine in the first half. Fenerbache never really threatened and when Eriksen put us ahead early on, one would have to feel optimistic. And until HT we were pretty good despite Onana’s double save which i must say was extraordinary!
But therein lies the problem of ETH’s United. The one characteristic that is clearly lacking… ruthlessness. We never to be able to take the lead and seize the moment.
At 0-1 down at HT you would expect that Fenerbache would try to react. And yet we were caught out. You can blame it on the central defenders and one can even debate that the keeper could have gone out to take the cross, but the fact remains that we conceded. And yet there was ample time to win it but we created very little going forward. Hojlund, on for a disappointing Zirkzee, was provided with very little service and we continue to struggle to score goals. And to create chances!
The FT score leaves United with a mountain to climb to qualify for the next stage of the EL although I confess that I still haven’t figured out the new format.
ETH is running (or has already ran) out of time. We are definitely not world beaters but I still firmly believe that with this squad we can play better football and get better results.
Let’s see how we fare down in London on Sunday. We keep hoping for things to improve but things remain pretty much the same. After every match you will hear supporters saying that it is what it is, in Maltese it is even more eloquent…’minn dak hemm’ and it makes me sad. I was hoping for a better season but signs are ominous in my opinion…Numquam Moribimur!
