They say pressure makes you do strange things, and that appeared to be the case for Erik ten Hag after the Manchester United boss left fans dumbfounded with his decision to start full-back Noussair Mazraoui as an attacking midfielder during the Red Devils’ visit to Fenerbahce on Thursday night.
With captain and usual number 10 Bruno Fernandes unavailable due to suspension, the Dutch coach opted to play the defender further up the pitch, leaving attacking options like Rasmus Hojlund and Amad Diallo on the substitutes’ bench for the 1-1 draw. Explaining his decision pre-match, Ten Hag stated that he “sometimes played him there for Ajax, also playing him as a full-back, and also in our system, he’s playing in the half spaces, so he’s capable of doing this job.”
The experiment brought back flashbacks to England’s Euro 2024 campaign, where Gareth Southgate, who has been linked with the United hot seat, had persisted with Trent Alexander-Arnold in the middle of the park. Much like that trial, Mazraoui failed to inspire and was moved back to his natural position after just 55 minutes. However, that hasn’t stopped fans from having their say on Ten Hag’s unusual selection.
Fans React to Mazraoui’s Number 10 Performance
The Moroccan received mixed reviews but the decision was mostly criticised
As Paul Scholes mentioned at half-time during the TNT Sport coverage, Mazraoui didn’t see much of the ball in his new role. However, this was mainly due to the hosts dominating the first period, controlling 67% of possession compared to United’s 33% in the opening 45 minutes.
Despite the lack of touches, Mazraoui made a key contribution leading to the crucial opening goal. After Manuel Ugarte won the ball back for United, a counter-attack unfolded, and the ball eventually found Mazraoui just inside the penalty area. Rather than taking a wild swing, the Moroccan remained composed, cushioning the ball to Joshua Zirkzee, who set up Christian Eriksen to fire home.
After that, things petered out for both the player and his teammates, with the 10 outfield players having Andre Onana to thank for not going into the break level after the Cameroonian’s incredible double save. Their resistance didn’t last long as the equaliser came within five minutes of the restart.
With Ten Hag now after more control in the midfield, he opted to bring on Casemiro to slot into a deeper role and push Eriksen up the pitch, which saw Mazraoui return to the back four as he slotted into left-back. With his adventure further afield officially over, it gave fans the opportunity to voice their feelings about what they had seen of the 26-year-old.
One fan took to social media to claim that: “We’re playing 1 man down with Mazraoui in 10, he doesn’t know what to do there, he’s just running around doing nothing.”
Another shared a similar sentiment, stating: “Mazraoui in number 10 experiment is one of the worst decisions I have ever seen,” while a third added: 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.”
It wasn’t all doom and gloom though, as others felt as though the Moroccan was doing well enough in his new position, with one saying: “As much as I’d like to see more of Amad, Mazraoui is doing a decent job in that role.”
Onana Reflects on Mazraoui Performance
The Cameroonian was quizzed about the experiment at full-time
After the full-time whistle, goalkeeper Onana was asked about how he felt Mazraoui performed as a playmaker. The Cameroonian unsurprisingly defended his manager’s choice and credited the summer signing for his performance:
“We are happy with him [Mazraoui], with his performance. He used to play there when he was younger. I think sometimes we have to be pragmatic. With the red cards. With the injuries. Players sometimes need to step up and today Mazraoui did it.
“He was brilliant for the team because the team needed him there. So I am happy with him.”
United now sit with three points from three games, four points away from the top eight which would allow them to bypass the first knockout stage of the competition.