Manchester United fans have dropped a clear-cut verdict on Erik ten Hag’s experimental decision involving Noussair Mazraoui against Fenerbahce in the Europa League clash on Thursday.
The Red Devils travelled to Istanbul in Turkey for their third Europa League match of the season after their 2-1 comeback win against Brentford at Old Trafford last week.
Manchester United began their Europa League campaign last month and Erik ten Hag’s men were held to a 1-1 draw against FC Twente at Old Trafford.
Erik ten Hag’s side then blew a 2-0 advantage against Porto earlier this month and came from behind to seal a late 3-3 draw at the Estadio do Dragao in Portugal.
Fenerbahce, on the other hand, defeated Union Saint-Gilloise in September before picking up a 1-1 draw against FC Twente earlier this month in the Europa League.
Mazraoui at No 10 for Man Utd
Erik ten Hag made the bold decision to deploy Noussair Mazraoui as a No 10 for Manchester United in their Europa League clash against Turkish side Fenerbahce.
The United manager has seen his first-team squad hit with injuries and the suspension of captain Bruno Fernandes, who was sent off in the 3-3 Porto draw.
Mazraoui previously played under Ten Hag at Ajax and the 26-year-old right-back arrived at Old Trafford in the summer after he was signed from Bayern Munich.
The former Bayern Munich and Ajax star has been widely praised for his performances at right-back in his debut season in England.
However, Mazraoui took up an ‘experimental’ No 10 role for the first time at United, with the Morocco international playing behind summer signing Joshua Zirkzee.
The Morocco and United full-back was part of the build-up for United’s opener against Fenerbahce, with Christian Eriksen opening the scoring in the first half.
Mazraoui’s role in the No 10 came to an end early in the second half after Fenerbahce striker Youssef En-Nesyri cancelled out Christian Eriksen’s opener.
The United star was moved to the full-back role after Victor Lindelof, who was playing at centre-back, was pulled off and replaced by Casemiro in the 55th minute.
Man Utd fans react to Mazraoui’s performance
United fans took to social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, and insisted that the Mazraoui “experiment” in the No 10 role backfired for the Red Devils.
Red Devils supporters were baffled by Ten Hag’s call to deploy the defender in an attacking role, with fans claiming that he offered “nothing in the attacking half.”
“Can anyone see why Mazraoui is at No 10? We are literally playing with 10 men,” one fan said.
Someone else added: “This Mazraoui thing hasn’t even remotely worked.”
“Mazraoui as a [No] 10 [is] still bizarre to me,” another wrote.
While a fourth X user tweeted: “I say this with all due respect to Mazraoui as it isn’t his fault… But it isn’t a surprise we are struggling to sustain attacks when we have a right-back playing at [No] 10. Amad [Diallo], two up top in [Rasmus] Hojlund and Zirkzee, Eriksen – why none of these?”
And a fifth posted: “I haven’t seen a ghost performance like Mazraoui is putting in ever in my life, haven’t noticed the guy once and he’s playing in the most pivotal position.”
Another claimed: “I’ve seen enough of the Mazraoui as a [No] 10 experiment. Gives us nothing in the attacking half of the pitch. Zirkzee has been poor as well.”
Somebody else said: “Ten Hag is insane for this Mazraoui thing.”
An eighth simply commented: “Mazraoui experiment [is] over. He looks so uncomfortable up there. [Diogo] Dalot is the most out-of-position right-back of all time.”
Related Posts