Manchester United’s struggles in Europe continued on Thursday night against Porto, only salvaging a 3-3 draw.
Erik ten Hag will have struggled to believe his eyes on Thursday night at the Estadio do Dragao as he watched his side go from 2-0 up to 3-2 down.
Such a complete implosion from winning positions is nothing new to Manchester United, with last season’s Champions League campaign demonstrating this clear as day.
Ultimately, Ten Hag was let off by a brilliant set-piece in injury time which drew the sides level as the game finished Porto 3-3 United – a result which leaves the Red Devils 21st in the table.
Marcus Rashford was voted as the man of the match by fans, however, one United player may have been Ten Hag’s saviour – despite not getting the plaudits.
Christian Eriksen was Erik ten Hag’s saviour vs Porto
On what was a crucial night for Ten Hag’s future, ultimately he failed to turn up with the goods as Porto will be livid to have dropped any points to this poor United side.
However, there were positives to take from the game, with goals from both Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund promising to ignite their seasons.
Despite this, it was Christian Eriksen who was the undisputed star of the show and Ten Hag’s saviour.
Eriksen was back in the team against Porto, taking Kobbie Mainoo’s place as the 19-year-old was likely not quite fit.
The 32-year-old Dane continued to show himself to be ageing like a fine wine as he ran the show from start to finish, creating six chances and scoring two assists in the process.
Eriksen set up Rashford for the opener – although much of the work was done by the United No.10.
Not done here, Eriksen then provided the all-important cross which met Maguire’s head to salvage a point, which may have just saved Ten Hag to fight another day.
The past few weeks have been excellent for Eriksen and proved Ten Hag must find a way to fit Eriksen into the team on a regular basis.
Eriksen’s resurgence for Manchester United is impressive
In recent weeks, as United have collapsed Eriksen has been standing out amid all of the chaos.
The Dane has three goals and three assists in his last five games in all competitions as he has also started five of the last six with his outing against Porto being another great display.
| Stat | Vs. Porto |
| Minutes | 90 |
| Assists | 2 |
| Passing | 39/45 (87%) |
| Chances created | 6 |
| Touches | 61 |
| Corners | 7 |
| Duels | 3/4 (75%) |
| Defensive actions | 2 |
Eriksen has been immense lately and these performances should mean Ten Hag is scrambling to find a way of fitting Eriksen into a midfield with Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte.
In current form, this should come in the form of Bruno Fernandes getting dropped as he has been woeful this season and was sent off for the second successive game vs Porto.
Eriksen is far more deserving of the minutes and if Ten Hag values his job, he’ll pick Eriksen for judgement day on Sunday.
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