Marcus Rashford and Hojlund gave Man United a 2-0 lead after just 20 minutes. However, they were equalized by the home team in the first half. FC Porto took the lead to 3-2 at the beginning of the second half. It was not until injury time that Harry Maguire equalized 3-3 for Man United. Before that, Bruno Fernandes received a red card for the second consecutive match, the last time in the Premier League (the card was later overturned).
“Man United started the game very well, scoring two good goals, but then we lost control. FC Porto’s home ground is always a difficult test, we were 3-2 down but managed to draw 3-3, which boosted the players’ morale.
Man United have a strong, determined spirit, but the midfield and defense need to improve. We have to control the ball better and defend more solidly," Erik ten Hag said after the match.
When asked about his future, the Dutch strategist continued to speak “hard”. He emphasized: “Don’t judge us now, let’s see what happens at the end of the season. Man United is still in the process of building the team, we will improve.
We have two seasons to reach cup finals, so be patient. Man United must develop and make progress. To do that, we must work hard and fight together."
In the match against FC Porto, Erik ten Hag replaced Marcus Rashford at the beginning of the second half, even though he was Man United's best player in the first half. This decision shocked experts. They thought that Rashford was injured. However, explaining his decision, Ten Hag said that he needed to rotate the squad because this weekend, the team will have a difficult away match against Aston Villa.
With this draw, Man United has only 2 points and is ranked 21/36 on the Europa League rankings after the first 2 matches of the group stage.
