It just had to be about him. Nearly six years after being sacked from Manchester United, Jose Mourinho was given a red card by his former employer for protesting when he believed a penalty should have been awarded to the Fenerbahçe side. But he watched as Youssef En-Nesyri's equalizer saved them a point after Christian Eriksen's opener put them behind.
A third successive draw in this competition meant Erik ten Hag's side were sandwiched between Viktoria Pilsen and Elfsborg in the Europa League play-offs.That night, the Dutchman made a strange attacking move. He decided to play against Nouser Mazraoui in the role. The United manager will point to the vast improvement in his side's performance, which had conceded 17 goals in their last five away games in Europe, but if Mourinho's pleas have not gone unheeded, they could have been better. The result could have been terrible. They lost 3-0 here under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2004, but at least this time, unlike their former employees, United emerged relatively unscathed.
Ten Hag have described the competition as a “big goal for us” this season, but they have caused a surprise in the starting XI with Mazraoui replacing suspended captain Bruno Fernandes as No. 10. Ta. Ajax's Dutchman was one of four changes from United's win over Brentford at the weekend, with Victor Lindelof, Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee also brought on.
This meant that Rasmus Højlund had to settle for a spot on the bench despite scoring the winning goal against Brentford, with Ten Hag insisting that the Danish striker was “fit and fit” after his return from injury. “We need to strengthen it,” he said.
It wasn't just in the away dugout that there were some familiar faces, with former United midfielders Fred and Sofian Amrabat among the former Premier League players in the Fenerbahce team. The city has been little kind to visitors over the years, but its origins date back to the infamous “Welcome to Hell” match against Galatasaray in 1993.
Some United fans suffered minor injuries after being targeted by some of Fenerbahce's ultra players on Wednesday night, but the atmosphere was intimidating at a venue where they had only won once before – David Beckham and Eric Cantona both scored in October 1996. Won 2-0.
United were clearly instructed to quiet the home crowd, but found themselves on the back foot early on after former Queens Park Rangers full-back Bright Ossai-Samuel opted for an angled shot rather than a pass. It may have turned. Andre Onana had to be alert to push back a cross from Sebastian Szymanski as the hosts began to gain momentum with Mourinho wandering around the technical area.
But his mood worsened when United took the lead through Eriksen's smart finish after a quick break that involved Alejandro Garnacho, Mazraoui and Zirkzee. The home fans and manager felt there were two fouls in the build-up, but referee Clement Turpin thought otherwise.
Marcus Rashford came inches from doubling United's lead when he snaked his way into the area, but Onana fumbled straight to his cross before denying Dusan Tadic. It took an incredible block from Ugarte to leave the opening goal wide open. Fenerbahce fans couldn't believe their luck when Onana pulled off two great saves. The first save was reminiscent of Gordon Banks' against Brazil. The team ended the first half on a high note as they blocked En-Nesyri's header from close range.
The Portuguese rubbed his eyes in disbelief at Mourinho's reaction to the double save, but took a moment to congratulate the Cameroon goalkeeper in the tunnel heading into the second half. But Onana could do nothing against En-Nesyri's equalizer after Allan Saint-Maximin found space on the left and fed a pinpoint cross to the Moroccan's forehead.
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Ten Hag responded by abandoning the Mazraoui experiment and bringing on Hojlund and Casemiro, but the game's controversial moment came quickly.
Ossai-Samuel went down after a tough challenge from Ugarte, but Turpin waved off his protests. Mourinho appeared shocked when he was shown a red card for protesting and took a long time to leave the pitch before standing in the stands. Rashford was set up by Diogo Dalot's powerful run and committed an embarrassing air shot when it looked certain to restore United's lead.
They looked more dangerous with their orthodox line-up at the end of the match, but despite Garnacho's best attempts, they were unable to create much.
Given that Mourinho was without 10 senior players on a night when he was at his best again, Anthony's injury, which resulted in his substitute being taken off on a stretcher with his hands on his face, was a bummer for Ten. This will be a cause for concern for The Hague.
