Fenerbahce 2 Manchester United 1: More misery for Jose Mourinho as Paul Pogba limps off in Europa League loss

JEREMAIN LENS scored a screamer of a free-kick on a night of three wonder goals as Manchester United went down 2-1 to Fenerbahce.

Wayne Rooney scored a worldie consolation from 30 yards in the 88th minute, but it was not enough.

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Moussa Sow's cracker of a bicycle kick in two minutes stunned United as their defence was again called in to question and suddenly Fenerbahce had something to hang on to.

The match was a fiery encounter and had the ingredients of a proper European game with tough hard  tackles and the traditional hostile atmosphere of a Turkish stadium welcoming an English team for a real battle.

Jose Mourinho will be pulling his hair out over losing his record signing Paul Pogba inside half hour to give him a selection headache for the weekend trip to Swansea City.

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STATS, FACTS, GOALS AND LOLS

• United find different ways to mess up. At the weekend it was poor finishing. Last night they couldn’t create.
•  Striker with confidence – Moussa Sow pulled off a scissor-kick on edge of the area direct from a cross for the second-minute opener.
•  Striker with confidence returning – Wayne Rooney missed a shocker in the first half but pulled one back with a beauty.
• Henrikh Mkhitaryan finally got a game. Paul Pogba came off injured and the Armenian remained on the bench until the 60th minute when he was brought on.
•  Pogba can’t complain about not getting enough ball. Everything went through when he was on the pitch. It is down to him to make it happen.
•  Morgan Schneiderlin made his first start in six weeks and looks like he needs games to build up his rhythm.
•  No complaints about Ander Herrera’s yellow card this time. He slipped at the weekend for a second booking but this time crashed into Souza.
• Fenerbahce’s crowd played their part with a deafening sound that started more than an hour before kick-off.
• Black Cats everywhere. Ex-boss Dick Advocaat in the dug-out and goalscorer Jeremain Lens on the wing. Current Sunderland boss David Moyes will know about United struggling.
•  Zlatan Ibrahimovic lost his rag with Simon Kjaer – then replays showed him brushing away the ref’s arm.
• Marcus Rashford may need a rest. Doesn’t have the zip he did last season – even if he looks threatening when on the ball.

BIG PICTURE

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SOCIAL SAYS

DREAM TEAM RATINGS

Fenerbache: Demirel 5, Ozbayrakli 6, Skrtel 6, Kjaer 6, Kaldirim 7, Souza 7, Potuk 6 (Neustadter 82, 6), Topal 7, Lens 8, Sow 7 (Koybasi 86, 5), Sen 7 (Emenike 68, 6)

Subs not used: Fabiano, Stoch, Ucan, Van Persie

Booked: Demirel, Ozbayrakli, Skrtel, Souza, Potuck

STAR MAN: Jeremain Lens

Manchester United: De Gea 5, Darmian 6, Blind 6, Rojo 6, Shaw 6, Schneiderlin 6 (Mata 46, 6),Herrera 6, Pogba 6 (Ibrahimovic 29, 6), Rashford 5 (Mkhitaryan 61, 6), Rooney 7, Martial 6

Subs not used: Romero, Jones, Fellaini, Young

Booked: Schneiderlin, Herrera

WHAT THEY SAID

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho: ''A team that concedes a goal after two minutes is a team that is not ready and a team that is not mentally prepared, not focused, not concentrated and in an atmosphere like this you give an advantage to an opponent.''