Manchester United face ghosts of their past as Jose Mourinho aims to push Erik ten Hag to the edge

Manchester United instrumentality connected Fenerbahce with Erik 10 Hag, erstwhile again, successful hopeless request of a triumph to some easiness the unit connected his presumption and kickstart his side’s Europa League campaign. To bash so, they volition person to vanquish respective ghosts of their past successful Istanbul, notably Jose Mourinho.

The Special One - who took implicit the Turkish giants successful the summertime - is acceptable to “welcome” his erstwhile nine and Ten Hag to town. Mourinho told reporters astatine his pre-match property league that helium “wishes the champion to Man United since the infinitesimal I left”, but getting 1 implicit them, arsenic helium has with Porto and Real Madrid, would surely marque him smile.

Rather fittingly, Mourinho was successful the United dugout the past clip the 2 sides met, presiding implicit a 2-1 nonaccomplishment astatine the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium successful November 2016, a play which ended with the club’s sole occurrence successful the competition.

The Portuguese was speedy to constituent this out, telling a newsman who mentioned that defeat: “Fenerbahce besides mislaid successful Manchester, and that twelvemonth Manchester United were European champions and I was the manager.”

It was the sixth clip the 2 clubs met, with the different 5 featuring United’s first-ever European location nonaccomplishment successful October 1996 and Wayne Rooney’s debut hat-trick successful a 6-2 triumph conscionable implicit 20 years ago. Their seventh clash volition not lone spot Ten Hag travel up against his astir important (post-Ferguson) predecessor, but 2 midfielders helium used, and disposed of, astatine Old Trafford: Fred and Sofyan Amrabat.

Fred moved to the Turkish superior successful the summertime of 2023, with Amrabat joining him this summertime pursuing a mostly forgettable indebtedness spell with United successful which helium was signed successful portion to regenerate the Brazilian. Both player’s past games for the nine came successful FA Cup finals, with the Moroccan being the 1 to permission with a winners’ medal.

Could either travel backmost to haunt a United broadside apt to see Manuel Ugarte, a subordinate signed arsenic an upgrade connected both? The Uruguayan could bash with a large game, peculiarly with Casemiro apt to articulation Kobbie Mainoo successful the attraction room, and Bruno Fernandes suspended.

The erstwhile midfielders are joined by a postulation of ex-Premier League stalwarts fitting of immoderate Turkish broadside successful caller memory, including respective with erstwhile against United, namely, and ominously, Edin Dzeko.

The seasoned Bosnian forward’s 5 derby goals for Manchester City volition beryllium champion recalled, but helium has besides scored successful each 4 different games with Wolfsburg and Roma, the archetypal of which took spot much than 15 years ago.

He, and Dusan Tadic, Allan Saint-Maximin among others, volition fancy adding to that tally against a United broadside that person won lone 1 of their past 9 games successful Europe, and conceded 3 times successful each of their past 4 distant games connected the continent.

I privation them the champion to since the infinitesimal I left, if things are not going amazingly good for them I’m not happy

Jose Mourino

One of those games came successful Istanbul astatine the location of Fenerbahce’s arch-rivals, Galatasaray, arsenic United threw distant different two-goal pb to gully 3-3 connected a nighttime to hide for goalkeeper Andre Onana.

With truthful galore narratives, and United’s propensity to self-destruct, different nighttime of chaos and precocious play appears the lone outcome. That is unless Ten Hag and his squad tin banish their demons, and soundlessness the Special One, his motley unit and a raucous location crowd.