Manchester United remain without a win in the Europa League after only managing a 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce on Thursday.
This trip to Turkiye was a big one for Erik ten Hag.
The Dutchman had beaten Brentford in the Premier League on Saturday but European form has been a huge concern.
Manchester United have opened the Europa League campaign with just two points from two games after a couple of disappointing displays.
United drew 1-1 with FC Twente before a bonkers 3-3 draw at Porto; United were leading in both of those games.
Sure enough, United took the lead at Fenerbahce too but Christian Eriksen’s opener was cancelled by Youssef En-Nesyri’s leveller.
Owen Hargreaves on Manuel Ugarte
That is now three points from three games in the Europa League this season and United are left with real problems.
United posed a threat on the counter attack against Fenerbahce but were also left sweating at the back on a couple of moments.
Andre Onana produced an incredible double save in the first half, which left Jose Mourinho absolutely stunned.
United had Manuel Ugarte to thank as well as the Uruguayan produced a remarkable block to deny Dusan Tadic a certain goal.
Ugarte also set up United’s goal with a brilliant tackle and a nice pass forward into Joshua Zirkzee.
Ugarte has now been praised by two former United midfielders with Owen Hargreaves and Paul Scholes impressed.
Speaking on TNT Sports (24/10, 10:35pm), Hargreaves noted that Ugarte ‘played really well’ and looked ‘really good’, even though the players ahead of him didn’t quite click.
Scholes added that this was Ugarte’s best game for United, believing that he played the holding midfield role ‘really well’ and produced ‘good tackles’ throughout.
“I thought Ugarte played well really,” said Hargreaves. “I thought he looked really good, but offensively, they didn’t create as much as I think they would have expected.
“Ugarte, I thought, probably had his best game for United. He played the position really well with some good tackles,” said Scholes.
Ugarte must now kick on
United invested decent money in Ugarte, paying £42.2million rising to £50million to sign him from Paris Saint-Germain.
This deal took most of the summer to complete and was the very last deal United confirmed before the window closed.
Expectations were high with United fans hoping that Ugarte would solve the midfield problems by offering a combative presence.
Ugarte struggled on his debut against Tottenham Hotspur and has been brought along rather slowly by Ten Hag.
This was the most encouraging Ugarte performance yet and the hope is that he can now take this display into Premier League action.
United will have Premier League, Carabao Cup and Europa League games stacking up over the coming weeks and months, so it’s imperative that Ugarte really builds on a strong display against Fenerbahce and becomes one of United’s key men.
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