Porto 3 Man United 3: Defensive horror show? What happened to trusted lieutenants?

Manchester United drew 3-3 with Porto in the Europa League on Thursday evening.

United seemed to have started perfectly. Marcus Rashford gave them the lead after seven minutes before Rasmus Hojlund doubled the away side's lead in the 20th minute.

However, the game soon turned around. First, Pepe (no, not that one) pushed the ball past Andre Onana, reducing the lead to a single goal. Then Samuel Omorodion equalized after 34 minutes.

Halftime came and went, but nothing changed in the flow of the game. In the 50th minute the ball was played to Omorodion in the penalty area and he fired past Onana to give the hosts the lead for the first time of the night and complete the comeback. A bad evening was apparently rounded off by Bruno Fernandes being sent off for a second bookable offense in the 80th minute.

But then Harry Maguire rose highest from a corner in added time to head home and save United a point.

Here, The Athletics United experts analyze a dramatic game.

How bad was the defense?

Erik ten Hag's future is under scrutiny on a game-by-game basis but he was saved from a hugely damaging loss to Harry Maguire in added time. Sir Jim Ratcliffe plans to attend United's next game at Villa Park and he can expect plenty of entertainment at the very least.

Defensively, however, it was a terrible night for United, and the problem for Ten Hag is that this was his first choice at centre-back, with two players he had signed. Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt each put on a horror show, which even Ten Hag acknowledged by eliminating both with twelve minutes remaining. Martinez let Pepe run past him for Porto's first goal and was sluggish for the same player to score the winner. De Ligt cut a frantic figure in many of his defensive moves and almost gave Omorodion a hat-trick by sending the ball high.

United's weakness saw his team concede three or more goals in a game in their 24th match under Ten Hag. They also continued the theme of scoring goals in quick succession. Porto scored twice in seven minutes and three times in 23 minutes.

Ten Hag's side have an undesirable record: they conceded two goals in four minutes at Bayern Munich, two in ten minutes at home against Galatasaray, two in four minutes in Copenhagen and two in nine minutes at Galatasaray.

There were also two in eight minutes at Crystal Palace, two in eight minutes against Coventry, two in two minutes at Chelsea, three in 24 minutes at Wolves, two in 11 minutes at Newport and two in five minutes at home against Aston Villa.

Twelve minutes from time Maguire and Jonny Evans came on as substitutes to improve the situation. Maguire had a shaky start, trying to play offside and allowing another one-on-one, but he scored a huge goal at the other end.

Laurie Whitwell

Was the first half a conclusion for Ten Hag at United?

“We have to improve in the final third and in the boxing game, be more killers there,” said Erik ten Hag in front of the assembled press yesterday. “Our strikers are capable of that, I’m sure.”

Disappointing results against Crystal Palace, FC Twente and Tottenham Hotspur meant dark clouds began to form around Ten Hag. Something had to give at the Estadio do Dragao; United needed some luck in attack.

Fortunately – or even coincidentally – Porto's goalkeeper Diogo Costa was lucky enough to endure saves from Rashford and Hojlund in the first 20 minutes of the game. Ten Hag's page seemed to have clicked. The number was high. The overtaking angles were sharper. Dark clouds subsided.

Then came the other side of Ten Hag's United. The Mr. Hyde, which has been used routinely in European competition since April 2023. A looping cross forced Onana into action in the 27th minute, well parrying an unintentional header from Noussair Mazraoui. Unfortunately, the goalkeeper and Martinez couldn't get to the second ball in time, allowing Pepe to sneak in and hold a ball back.

Ten Hag watches United in the first half (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)

Seven minutes later, striker Omorodion brought another cross into the box and headed past Onana, equalizing.

31 – This is the 31st time since the start of last season that Manchester United have conceded two or more goals in a game – the most by any current Premier League club in that time. Porous. pic.twitter.com/pP1QO07gkL

– OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 3, 2024

United had let a two-goal lead slip away. As they struggled to re-establish themselves in the game, old habits crept in. The gaps between midfield and defense slowly widened and Porto tried their luck again with more crosses into the box from Onana. Both teams began exchanging offensive shots and it was a back and forth basketball style game.

If the 1-1 draw with FC Twente had echoes of United's nervous 1-0 win over Copenhagen last season, then that first half against Porto brought flashbacks to the chaotic 3-3 draw away to Galatasaray.

Ten Hag's United continues to find new ways to make a name for themselves in European competition. What is fun for neutrals turns out to be difficult for United fans.

Carl Anka

Did United's throwback midfield work?

A midfield trio of Casemiro, Christian Eriksen and Bruno Fernandes was the foundation of the best run of results of Ten Hag's tenure at Manchester United, winning six consecutive Premier League games, culminating in a 2-1 win against Manchester in January 2023 City culminated.

But this combination was rarely seen last season as Ten Hag tried to push his team forward. The last time this happened was the 3-4 away defeat against Bayern Munich in September. Although they started three games at the end of the season, Casemiro was a central defender, most recently in the 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.

It was a result that spelled the end for Casemiro, and Eriksen was also on the way to elimination, but both stayed in the summer and consolidated the midfield here in a game of great importance for Ten Hag. Kobbie Mainoo's muscle injury against Tottenham meant he was unavailable, while Ten Hag sent Manuel Ugarte to the bench. Ugarte was expected to start again in the country where he spent two years as a Sporting Lisbon player, but perhaps Ten Hag was aware that he lost his last game 3-0 at the Estadio do Dragao.

Casemiro and Eriksen, both 32 years old, got off to a good start. It was a lovely pass from Casemiro from deep midfield to Eriksen, who then gave Rashford enough space to attack Porto's defense and score. Eriksen grabbed the second ball after a long shot from Onana and again found Rashford, who set up Hojlund.

But there was a stark reminder of why Ten Hag was trying to rejuvenate this area of ​​the pitch. United were unable to contain Porto's attacks as they pushed hard to equalize and after the break they showed their limits. They were behind when Francisco Moura capped off a Porto counterattack with a good save from Onana. Casemiro let Nico Gonzalez escape backwards, triggering Omorodion's goal that made the final score 3-2.

Laurie Whitwell

What happened to United's trusted lieutenants?

The FA's disciplinary committee may have overturned his sending off against Spurs, but Fernandes found himself on the wrong side of the law again against Porto. The United captain received a second yellow card in the 81st minute after his high foot reaching for a cross was deemed dangerous play. Did Fernandes' boot touch Nehuen Perez's face? Maybe not, but it was a rush of play from a player who has been used with uncomfortable frequency this season.

What worries United most is the demise or absence of Ten Hag's most trusted lieutenants in 2022-23.

According to Ten Hag, Rashford was substituted at half-time for “rotation reasons”. Porto took great pleasure in directing passes into the spaces behind Eriksen. Casemiro is no longer the defensive shield he once was, making an already porous midfield even worse. Martinez appears sluggish when entering his defensive duels and finds it difficult to defend the larger areas of space his midfield gives up.

Maguire's stoppage-time header saved some blushes and gave United the draw, but this team is going backwards. It's up to Ten Hag to find a way to stop the side.

Fernandes receives his red card in the 80th minute (Florencia Tan Jun – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

Carl Anka

What's next for Man Utd?

Sunday, October 6th: Aston Villa (A), Premier League, 2pm UK, 9am ET

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(Top photo: Octavio Passos/Getty Images)