Manchester United’s debut to the new Europa League season was incredibly disappointing as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by FC Twente, the underdog team.

Man United took 19 shots and held 57% of the possession, but they were mainly unproductive offensively, failing to really put the goalie to the test. The game finished in a draw despite the visitors needing just seven attempts to win; this was due to United’s deficiency of attacking players and defensive mistakes, which gave Twente plenty of opportunities to score.

Christian Eriksen, who was at the center of United’s midfield, significantly altered the course of the game. He unexpectedly became both a hero and a sort of villain as a result of his deeds.

Eriksen’s breakthrough came around the thirty-five-minute mark. With the ball loose on the edge of the box, the Dane fired a fierce drive that went past the goalkeeper and into the far corner of the net, giving United a significant advantage at the break.

Regrettably, his renown was fleeting. Eriksen was a major factor in United’s defeat as Twente scored an equalizer against the flow of play with just 22 minutes remaining on the clock.

The ball drifted to Eriksen’s foot even though Lisandro Martinez did a good job of taking out Ricky van Wolfswinkel after he dribbled past a few defenseless United players. Eriksen tried to turn in the other direction, but Sam Lammers quickly got the better of him, charging into the box and putting the ball past Onana for an improbable equalizer.

Putting aside the goals scored by each team, Eriksen demonstrated excellent passing, finishing 43 of 46 passes attempted for a remarkable 93% passing accuracy.

He demonstrated his importance as a passer throughout the attack by threading three crucial passes to his colleagues, who were regrettably unable to capitalize.

Of Eriksen’s seven crosses, four found their mark, while he completed both of his long balls.

Eriksen won just one of his three duels, remaining mostly out of physical combat as is customary for a player of his caliber.

He made a tackle and one interception to aid his team’s defense. He stopped a shot as well.

Eriksen attempted a second shot that was blocked, but his goal was the only one that he managed to get on target.

Even though the midfielder gave an essentially excellent performance with the ball at his feet, Ten Hag’s catastrophic lack of focus during the game was evident, as the aging Dane was obviously outplayed by Ten Hag.

Nevertheless, he keeps demonstrating that he is the kind of player United should try to have at the squad, maybe serving as a great role model for younger teammates.

(Sofascore statistics)