Manchester United made it difficult for themselves for the second time in four days as they slumped to a second consecutive draw, this time dropping two points in their Europa League opener.
It looked like a positive day at the office for Manchester United when Christian Eriksen thumped in a first-half goal to give United the lead.
Then they didn’t kill the game off, again, and the opposition got one good chance, again, from which they scored, again.
The script of the Crystal Palace game followed to a tee, with the only exception being that both teams scored a goal here.
United’s intensity dropped in the second half, just like it did vs Palace and Twente, buoyed by a raucous home support, got wind in their sails.
That equaliser and two dropped points added an asterisk to the performance of many United players, including one who Wes Brown had declared an undroppable at the stroke of half-time.
Wes Brown declares Man Utd ace undroppable
When United had gone in at half-time leading 1-0, not many in the stadium, or those watching would have thought this game would finish in a draw.
If anything, the chances of United extending their lead en route to a comfortable win looked more likely but Twente had other ideas.
Eriksen, starting his fourth game in a row for the first time in over a year, was scripting a comeback story for the ages after having one foot out of the exit door in the summer. Brown waxed lyrical about the Danish midfielder.
Brown said: “He’s old enough now to understand that maybe he’s not going to be in the team week in, week out, but maybe he is now. “But I think when you’re playing so well, the manager has no other option to keep you in. And bear in mind now he’s got options all over the pitch.”
Brown’s former teammate and another ex-United player John O’Shea echoed similar sentiments: “I’m really, really pleased for him as well, because he’s kind of getting a run in the team as well. And, you know, obviously his delivery from set piece, but also he generally scores very good goals. And that was another to add to the list.”
Christian Eriksen’s game of two halves
If the first half had pundits declaring him undroppable, the second half showed why his resurgence has been a “shock” in the first place.
The Danish midfielder looked a bit off the pace as Twente gained ascendancy, buoyed by a raucous away support.
His fall was punctuated by an error that led directly to Twente’s goal, as he plodded on the ball, unaware of his surroundings, to get pinched off it.
Suddenly, Twente were level and had the wind in their sails, a setback which United never recovered from as some last-ditch defending gave the Dutch side a famous point at Old Trafford.
John O’Shea said the game becoming stretched brings out the weakness in Eriksen’s game.
He said: “It’s a little bit annoying for him. I’m sure that obviously the mistake, he just gets caught in possession. But not great. There’s no doubting technique and his ability.
“It’s just when the game got a little bit stretched, then that’s where you see maybe that obviously the changes need to happen then in midfield because it’s when the game does open up like that, it becomes a bit more difficult for Christian to kind of show that impact that he can have on the game.”
This is exactly why Eriksen was relegated to being a squad player from a first-teamer in Ten Hag’s debut season.
It looks like that is the position he will go back to despite doubling his United career goals output vs Twente in a week, scoring his third this week to make it six goals for United since joining.
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