Harry Maguire scored in added time for Manchester United to rescue a point against FC Porto after Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the second game in a row.
The visitors started the better side; goals from Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Højlund gave them the platform to go on and take three vital points.
But then things turned; by halftime, the score was level, with Pepê and Samu Omorodion scoring to take the game back to square one. When they took the lead in the second half, they looked certain to keep it; but late pressure from United would eventually yield the Maguire equaliser, as his side snatched a point at the death.
As it happened
After more than two weeks without a win, Manchester United and Erik ten Hag needed something to finally go their way. Winless in the Europa League after drawing at home with Twente, a trip to a Porto side who also failed in their first attempt to take three European points in their loss against Bodo/Glimt seemed like the perfect opportunity to turn a thus far torrid season around.
It all started so well, too. Seven minutes in, United did something rather uncharacteristic: they took the game to their opponents, and wouldn’t you just know it, they went and scored from it too.
Christian Eriksen gave the ball to Marcus Rashford in the midfield third, and he decided to do the rest. This was a seemingly long-lost version of Rashford. This was a version of Rashford willing to take a man on, and he did that once, twice, three times before finding enough room to slip an effort towards Diogo Costa’s near post. He’s Portugal’s most valuable goalkeeper, and he read the shot well. A big hand met the oncoming shot – but not big enough. It trickled past him, nestling into the back of the net to a reaction as shocked as it was disappointed in the Estádio do Dragão.
Embed from Getty ImagesThis was just what United needed. In front, they took the game to Porto, albeit a Porto side far from the quality of teams from years gone by. Still, a second goal would’ve done them the world of good, and that’s exactly what they got on the 20 minute mark.
There was an air of similarity about it, too. Once again, Costa faced a shot – this time from Rasmus Højlund – which he was all too powerless to stop. It was once more aimed at his near post, this time with power as opposed to placement, but the keeper’s outstretched right arm could only force a bounce over the line, by which point the attempted clearance from Nehuén Pérez was much too late.
Finally, Manchester United were in control of a game. After the underwhelming draws and the dismal defeat to Spurs, they were cruising.
But it’s just never that easy with this team. In the seven minutes after they doubled their lead, Porto had things all their own way, particularly down their righthand side. João Mário whipped in cross after cross, to the point that it was only a matter of time before one led to a goal.
When the goal did come, it was utterly avoidable. Mário’s cross was met by the head of Samu Omorodion, whose header was hard but comfortably saved by André Onana. His error was that he pushed the shot not out wide but back into the six-yard box, where Pepê was on his toes and Lisandro Martínez was not. The Brazilian stooped, dived and headed the rebound into the back of the net. Deficit reduced, Porto were reinvigorated. United were left second guessing.
It didn’t take long for Porto to level things up altogether, and it was rinse and repeat: Mário whipping a ball into the area, Omorodion the target, but this time Omorodion the goal scorer, his header powered past a helpless Onana.
Embed from Getty ImagesRemember, this was all before the break. The question was whether Manchester United would recover in the second half. The answer, immediately and emphatically, was no.
It was Omorodion again, five minutes into the second half. After already surviving one counterattack in the half’s infancy, United would be punished in the second. Pepê drove forwards down the right, the defenders in red sprinting back with desperation, the Spanish striker in the box lurking and waiting for his moment. One fizzed cutback later, the ball found his feet and he did the rest, smashing the ball into the top corner, way out of the reach of an Onana who wouldn’t have got near if it he was 10 feet tall.
This really is the story of United’s season. Even when they’re good, they’re not really that good. They were the better team at the Dragão for about twenty minutes. After that, they were decidedly second best.
But they kept pushing. At first, they were limited to pot shots; Noussair Mazraoui, Bruno Fernandes and Martínez all tried in vain to trouble Costa from outside the area.
Things would get worse before they’d get better, though. Bruno Fernandes, a pair of high feet to his name, was shown two yellow cards and sent off for his second game running. His suspension may have been overturned in the Premier League, but whether it will in Europe remains to be seen, but as things stand, he’ll be absent for his side’s reunion with José Mourinho (and, for what it’s worth, Fred).
Then Ten Hag made the decision to bring on both Johnny Evans and Harry Maguire while chasing the game. It seemed a bizarre choice to say the least – but he clearly knew something we didn’t.
Right at the end, the 10 men got themselves a corner. The ball was whipped to the far post, and who was there to meet it? None other than Maguire, forcing his header off the turf and into the back of the net. Costa, this time, was justifiably nowhere near it. United had rescued themselves a point with defeat seeming inevitable. They are remarkably consistent in their inconsistency.
Embed from Getty ImagesRecovery or otherwise, though, this result points to everything going wrong. They’re now winless in four games, a point a satisfactory return in the moment, but in the grand scheme of things they’re still slipping further and further away from where they want to be as a club. This Porto side is not remarkable by any stretch, but for large portions of this game they made mincemeat of United. Erik ten Hag’s future at this club is as uncertain as ever; a draw, sadly for him, does not change that.
The lineups
POR: Costa:Moura, Pérez, Zé Pedro, Mário; Varela, Estáquio, González; Galeno, Omorodion, Pepê
MUN: Onana; Dalot, Martínez, De Ligt, Mazraoui; Eriksen, Casemiro, Fernandes; Rashford, Højlund, Diallo
