46% duels lost: Ten Hag must immediately drop United star who lost 19x possession vs FC Twente - opinion

Manchester United started their Europa League campaign with a 1-1 draw against FC Twente at Old Trafford on Wednesday night.

The Red Devils went into the game as firm favourites and they broke the deadlock through Christian Eriksen in the 35th minute.

The Dane scored with a fantastic first-time shot which came as a surprise at the time.

United failed to double their advantage before the break. The theme continued in the second half before Twente eventually equalised.

Eriksen gifted cheap possession outside his own box and Sam Lammers fully capitalised to secure a surprise point for the Dutch side.

There were a number of positive performances yesterday but ultimately, United were unable to pick up maximum points from the game.

Eriksen turned from hero to zero with his defensive mistake, but we believe Bruno Fernandes was the worst player on the pitch last night.

The club captain recently had a poor outing at Crystal Palace. The Portuguese lost possession on a staggering 34 occasions over 90 minutes.

There was not much of an improvement versus Twente. He was dispossessed on 19 occasions and failed to create a single scoring chance for United.

Fernandes lost 46 per cent of his duels (6/13) and was dribbled past twice.

The 30-year-old summed up his performance last night with a wayward free-kick to the goalkeeper with United’s final chance of the encounter.

Fernandes has been United’s most influential player since his arrival from Sporting in 2020, but his performances have been under-par lately.

Ten Hag should consider dropping him immediately with Mason Mount waiting on the wings.

However, we won’t be surprised if the Dutchman persists with Fernandes, considering his ability to create and convert scoring chances on his day.

The United skipper will need to step up for the upcoming league game against Tottenham Hotspur at home which is a must-win for the club.

United are four points behind the Champions League places and can’t afford to slip up further after just six games into the top-flight campaign.

Stats from Sofascore.com