Manchester United started their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against FC Twente at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.
The Red Devils went into the game as firm favourites and broke the deadlock through a fine Christian Eriksen effort in the 35th minute.
United failed to double their advantage before the break. The theme continued in the second half before Twente eventually equalised.
Eriksen gifted cheap possession outside his own box and Sam Lammers fully capitalised to secure a surprise point for the Dutch side.
There were several positive performances yesterday, but United were unable to pick up maximum points from the game.
Eriksen turned from hero to zero with his defensive mistake, but Bruno Fernandes was the worst player on the pitch last night.
The club captain recently had a poor outing at Crystal Palace. The Portuguese lost possession on a staggering 34 occasions over 90 minutes.
There was not much of an improvement versus Twente. He was dispossessed on 19 occasions and failed to create a single scoring chance for United.
Fernandes lost six of his 13 duels and was dribbled past twice.
The 30-year-old summed up his performance last night with a wayward free-kick to the goalkeeper with United’s final chance of the game.
Fernandes has been United’s most influential player since his arrival from Sporting CP in 2020, but his recent performances have been below par.
Ten Hag should consider dropping him immediately with Mason Mount waiting in the wings.
However, the Dutchman will likely persist with Fernandes, considering his ability to create and convert scoring chances on his day.
The United captain will need to step up for the upcoming league game against Tottenham Hotspur at home, which is a must-win for the club.
United are four points behind the Champions League places and can’t afford to slip up further just six games into the top-flight campaign.
Stats from Sofascore.com.
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