Manchester United paid the price for missing a host of opportunities as Anderlecht’s Leander Dendoncker scored a late equaliser to keep their Europa League quarter-final tie finely poised for the return leg at Old Trafford.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal from a tight angle following Marcus Rashford’s parried shot gave United a vital way goal.
However, Jose Mourinho’s side failed to capitalise on a number of chances to kill the tie off before Dendoncker headed in unmarked from a cross from left-back Ivan Obradovic in the 86th minute to give the Belgian champions hope ahead of the second leg at Old Trafford.
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Here are the talking points from the game:
#1 Finishing woes continue for Manchester United
The game at Brussels was a perfect reflection of United's frustrating season as far as the finishing department was concerned. They got in behind the Anderlecht defence multiple times - Henrikh Mkhitaryan using his great vision of the game to good effect by running into pockets of space, with Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard providing width and pace. However, when it came to putting the ball into the back of the net, Mourinho's side once again came short.
Paul Pogba saw a shot saved by keeper Ruben Martinez when he was put clean through on goal, Lingard hit the post in the first half after Ruben's save and Mkhitaryan missed the target on a couple of occasions from good crosses. United's goal was a result of a split Marcus Rashford shot. They ultimately paid the price as the hosts managed to grab an equaliser in the dying stages with their first shot on target.
#2 A guide to 19-year old Anderlecht skipper Youri Tielemans
Though United fans may be pleasantly surprised when they learnt that a 19-year old by the name of Youri Tielemans would be Anderlecht’s skipper for the night, it was no such surprise to the home fans, who know all too well about his potential and capability to influence the game in midfield. Tielemans has already scored 18 goals for Anderlecht (5 goals in European competition) this season – despite being a central midfielder by nature.
He provides everything a midfielder is expected to do – a touch of flair and creativity when in attack and a calm head in front of the back four when the need of the hour is to guide the ball out of the defensive third. Tielemans – who has already won two senior Belgian caps – definitely displayed those attributes against United on Thursday. He held the ball in defensive midfield, kept an eye on Paul Pogba the whole game while also attempting to drive the ball forward when Anderlecht needed to express themselves after falling behind.
It was a solid, energetic performance from the young and talented player, who is tipped to be a future star and a hot prospect for some of Europe’s bigger clubs.
#3 Anderlecht goal down to Marouane Fellaini?
Anderlecht’s equaliser was deserved considering the fact that they had been looking to throw bodies forward against a United side who looked content to sit on their one-goal advantage. A sumptuous cross from full-back Obradovic was attacked by Dendoncker, whose bullet header evaded the reach of Sergio Romero and sent the Constant Vanden Stock into raptures.
Replays showed that Dendoncker appeared to be left unmarked by Marouane Fellaini – who was too slow to track back after a United attack. Matteo Darmian’s last ditch attempt to come in the way of Obradovic’s cross was fruitless as Dendoncker was always going to get there ahead of him.
Fellaini – who was the recipient of immense banter from United fans when he was appointed United’s captain for their Premier League game at Sunderland – did no good to win back some of the fans’ hearts with that defensive mistake, as the job of qualifying for the semi-finals of the Europa League was just made a little harder for Jose Mourinho’s side.
#4 Anthony Martial’s poor performance raises more doubts about his future
With an hour gone and United looking to kill the tie off in Belgium itself with a multiple-goal advantage, Jose Mourinho decided to make a change – hauling Jesse Lingard off and replacing him with Anthony Martial. The 21-year old – who hadn’t started a game for United since a 2-0 league victory over Watford – was under pressure to save a stumbling season and to warrant a starting place against Chelsea on Sunday.
However, his performance against Anderlecht will go down as one of his worst ever in a United shirt. The French winger failed to complete a single dribble during the 30-odd minutes he was on the pitch and saw a solitary shot from the edge of the box blocked by an Anderlecht defender.
He barely threatened to make the runs across the byline he is best known to do and looked deprived of the confidence to take defenders on with his fleet-footed skills. A terrible performance from the Frenchman raises more uncertainty about his future under Jose Mourinho.
#5 Ruben and Kara Mbodji Anderlecht’s men of the match
Anderlecht must take a lot of credit for keeping United at bay despite all the pressure from the visitors for the most part of 90 minutes. Two players who deserve special mentions are goalkeeper Ruben Martinez and centre-back Kara Mbodji. While Ruben kept Anderlecht in the tie with some excellent saves, Mbodji was immense at the back, getting his body in the path of shots and making a critical last-man tackle in the first half to deny Jesse Lingard from going one-on-one with Ruben.
Any aberration in that tackle would surely have resulted in a red card for the Senegalese defender. It was a brilliant challenge, possibly a game changer for the Belgian side when they travel to Old Trafford for the return leg in a week’s time.
