Porto Vs Manchester United Europa League match ended in a six-goal thriller draw in Portugal with both sides sharing the spoils.
Substitute Harry Maguire scored a late header to salvage a point for the Red Devils after they surrendered two goals to trail the hosts 3-2 into stoppage time.
Bruno Fernandes saw his second red card in two consecutive matches after he picked up a second yellow card in the 81st minute.
Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund were on target as the Red Devils settled for a draw against the Primeira Liga giants.
Porto Vs Manchester United records
The Red Devils went into the game with 0 wins in their last four away games. A concerning stats show the club have conceded 14 goals in the four matches, scoring nine goals.
Meanwhile, the last eight meetings between the two teams ended in Manchester United’s favour. The Red Devils won three times, lost two, and drew three.
The two teams went into the match on the back of a disappointing start to the campaign. United settled for a shock 1-1 draw at home to FC Twente in the opening match while Porto stumbled to a 3-2 defeat in their first match.
It was a must-win for United manager Erik ten Hag, who was under pressure to return the team to winning ways following a shock 3-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Porto Vs Manchester United Major Highlights
United would not have asked for a better start to the game. Porto dominated proceedings and went frenetic after the kickoff but it was Manchester United who had the last laugh with a lucky early goal in the 7th minute.
Casemiro found Eriksen and he played Rashford on the left who then went for a one-two with the Dane before firing on goal. It goes through Diogo Costa and trickled in. The goal came after just 6:40 second and that was the fastest goal for Manchester United in the UEFA Europa League this season.
Despite leading by a lone goal, United were still much into the game with many attempts. Porto also doubled up efforts to find an equalizer but were dealt a second blow 13 minutes after Rashford’s strike. This time, it was Rasmus Hojlund on the score sheet for the Red Devils.
Again, Costa’s poor goalkeeping that allowed the Red Devils to have their way. Eriksen had broke through the centre after a long Onana kick. The Dane played Rashford, who found his midfielder’s countryman Hojlund, and he slammed it through Costa at his left post to double the lead. It was Hojlund’s first goal in the Europa League this term.
Porto looked set to be heading towards defeat but it was just only 20 minutes into the game. They had more than enough time to turn things around.
Pep halved the deficit for Porto
Seven minutes after Manchester United’s second, Porto roared back into the game with their first goal, thanks to a stooping header by Pepe. United couldn’t get the second ball clear after sufficient pressure from the hosts since conceding the second. The next ball came in and Mazraoui’s unintentional header forced a fine save from Onana and Pepe was there to nod it past the Cameroonian.
After Pepe’s goal, Porto built momentum on every front in the game and were looking set to nail home the equalizer. It was not long before they found it.
New signing from Atletico Madrid Samu Omorodion got the hosts back strongly into the game with the much-needed equalizer.
United struggled with the continued balls into the box and Eustaquio worked it out of a penalty area before finding Mario who then floated a cross for Samu to power past Onana in the centre of the goal with a supreme header. It was an incredible response from the home side.
From two goals down, they fought back to peg United to a dramatic 2-2 draw with both goals scored in the space of 14 minutes.
Manchester United surrender two-goal in the second half
The second half was less eventful than the first but Porto made a stunning and unbelievable comeback five minutes into the restart.
The hosts had surged forward and Pepe was played in and drove down the right of the box. He pulled it back to Samu who then rifled the ball into the top right corner with superb skill. It was an incredible turnaround for the hosts. From 2-0 down, they went in front with a 3-2 lead, thanks to Omorodion’s brace.
A late red card for Bruno Fernandes
Bruno Fernandes bagged a controversial red nine minutes before regulation time. He was previously booked in the 32nd minute and picked up his second booking after a faint tackle on Perez.
With the Portuguese sent off, United’s comeback hopes was in tatters. Porto leveraged the one-man advantage to push harder, trying to extend the lead but failed to find a breakthrough.
Against the run of play, United finally clawed their charges back into the game, thanks to a stoppage-time free-kick converted by unlikely goal scorer Harry Maguire. Christian Eriksen had floated it in from the right and Maguire rose high to nod it home into the bottom left corner.
The late goal saw United force Porto to a dramatic 3-3 draw after the final whistle despite playing with 10 men.
Manchester United poor form continues in Europe
Manchester United have now failed to win their first two matches in the Europa League this season, settling for draw in both matches.
Erik ten Hag will definitely be coming under intense pressure as the team continue to struggle for results. Meanwhile, he will hope to return the team to winning ways when the take Aston villa in the Premier League at the weekend.
