It just had to be about him. José Mourinho was shown a red card against Manchester United for protesting when he thought his Fenerbahce side should have been awarded a penalty but still saw them rescue a point thanks to an equaliser from Youssef En-Nesyri after they had fallen behind to Christian Eriksen’s opener.

The result – a third straight draw in this competition – leaves Erik ten Hag’s side sandwiched between Viktoria Plzen and Elfsborg in the playoff positions in the Europa League after the Dutchman had strangely decided to play Noussair Mazraoui in an unusual attacking role. The United manager will point to a vastly improved performance from a team that had conceded 17 goals in their last five away matches in Europe, although it could have been worse had Mourinho’s pleas not fallen on deaf ears. Having lost 3-0 here under Sir Alex Ferguson in 2004, at least United emerged relatively unscathed this time – unlike their former employee.

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Ten Hag has described the Europa League as “a big target for us” this season but he sprang a surprise with his starting lineup by opting for Mazraoui to replace the suspended captain Bruno Fernandes. The Moroccan, who occasionally played in a more advanced position at Ajax, was involved in the buildup to Eriksen’s goal but otherwise seemed confused by his new role and it was quickly abandoned when Fenerbahce equalised. Mourinho’s meltdown came soon afterwards and the game petered out after that, although not before the substitute Antony was carried off on a stretcher with a serious-looking injury.

Mazraoui was one of four changes from United’s victory over Brentford at the weekend, with Rasmus Højlund having to settle for a place on the bench despite scoring the winner in that match, Ten Hag explaining that the Denmark striker has “to build his fitness” after returning from injury. United looked much more dangerous with the more orthodox lineup that finished the game but still couldn’t create much, despite the best attempts of Alejandro Garnacho.

It wasn’t just in the away dugout that there were familiar faces, with the former United midfielders Fred and Sofyan Amrabat among several former Premier League players in the Fenerbahce team.

This city has rarely been kind to the visitors over the years, dating back to the infamous “Welcome to Hell” game against Galatasaray in 1993. Some United fans had sustained minor injuries on Wednesday night when they were targeted by some of Fenerbahce’s ultras and it was an intimidating atmosphere at a venue where they have won only once before: in October 1996 when David Beckham and Eric Cantona scored in a 2-0 win.

United had clearly been instructed to try to quieten the home crowd but could have fallen behind early on when the former QPR full-back Bright Osayi-Samuel opted to shoot from a tight angle rather than pass. André Onana then had to be alert to push away a cross from Sebastian Szymanski as the hosts started to build up a head of steam, with Mourinho prowling his technical area.

But his mood only soured when United went ahead through Eriksen’s smart finish after a quick break involving Garnacho, Mazraoui and Joshua Zirkzee. The home fans and their manager felt that there had been two fouls in the buildup but the referee, Clément Turpin, thought otherwise.

Marcus Rashford was inches away from doubling United’s lead after wriggling into the area, but it required an unbelievable block from Manuel Ugarte to deny Dusan Tadic after Onana fumbled a cross straight to him and left the open goal gaping. The Fenerbahce fans couldn’t believe their bad luck when Onana pulled off two brilliant saves – the first reminiscent of Gordon Banks against Brazil – to deny En-Nesyri with headers from close range as their side finished the half positively.

Mourinho reacted to the double save by rubbing his eyes in disbelief and he took a moment to congratulate the Cameroon goalkeeper in the tunnel as he went out for the second half. But Onana could do nothing about En-Nesyri’s equaliser after Allan Saint-Maximin found space on the left flank and delivered a pinpoint cross to the Moroccan’s forehead.

Ten Hag responded by abandoning his Mazraoui experiment and throwing on Højlund and Casemiro but the game’s moment of controversy arrived soon after. Osayi-Samuel went down under a heavy challenge from Ugarte but Turpin waved away the protests. Mourinho looked shocked when he was shown a red card for protesting and it took an age for him to leave the pitch before taking his place in the stands. Rashford was then guilty of an embarrassing airshot after being set up by Diogo Dalot’s strong run when it looked certain he would restore United’s lead as, not for the first time in his career, Mourinho let his emotions get the better of him.