“I don’t understand the explanation.” That was Paul Scholes’ (50) reaction to Nusair Mazrouei’s (27, Man United) change of position.
“Despite manager Eric ten Haag’s explanation, Paul Scholes is not convinced,” Goal.com reported on Friday.
Manchester United drew 1-1 with Fenerbahce in the third leg of the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League League phase at the Shkri Sarajolu Stadium in Turkkiye Istanbul at 4 a.m. on Friday.
United took the lead in the 15th minute through Christian Eriksen, but Fenerbahçe’s Yusuf Ennesiri equalized with a header four minutes into the second half to level the score. United held on to the lead at halftime, but Fenerbahce took the initiative in the second half and continued to attack.
Notably, Fenerbahce coach Jose Mourinho was sent off in the 12th minute of the second half after arguing with the referee when Osayi Samuel was brought down inside the penalty box and the referee failed to award a penalty. United then had several chances to score, but were unable to capitalize and the game ended 1-1 with no further goals.
The result was United’s third consecutive draw in the Europa League, leaving them in 21st place with three points, while Fenerbahce moved up to 14th with five points.
One notable change in this match was the starting position of Noussaïr Mazrouei, otherwise known as ‘fullback’.
Head coach Eric ten Haag played Mazrawi in a new position on the day, deploying him in an attacking midfield role, or ‘number 10’.
Until Casemiro came on in the 10th minute of the second half, Mazrawi was actively involved in the attacking midfield, completing 83% of his passes (39/47), 파워볼사이트 taking one shot, two touches inside the opponent’s penalty box, and three balls into the final third.
However, they were less creative in their offense, with 0 successful dribbles and 0 chances created.
“Mazurawi was unexpectedly given the No. 10 role, but was not very successful as an attacking midfielder,” said the Manchester Evening News, ”He was moved back to full-back when Kasemiru came on.” They gave him a rating of 6.
After the game,
Ten Haag explained to TNT Sport why he chose to play Mazrawi as an attacking midfielder. “With Bruno Fernandez suspended and several players injured, we needed to be creative, and some players needed to recover before the next league game, so it was a necessary change,” he said.
“Eriksen is in the center of the park, Kobi Mainu plays in the number six role and Mazurawi is the number 10. I know him well from his time at Ajax and I played him as a number 10 sometimes even then,” he said, emphasizing that this is not the first time he has used Mazrawi in an attacking midfield role. In fact, Ten Haag has used Mazrawi in a number of different positions during his time at Ajax, where he played as a center back, defensive midfielder, central midfielder, and left winger.
“In our system, it’s important to play in the half-space, and Mazrawi can do that very well,” said Ten Haag. He showed good pressing today,” he added.
This explanation has left ‘Man United legend’ Paul Scholes confused. “I don’t understand it. I’m confused by the explanation. I thought Eriksen was the perfect player for Mazurawi’s role.”
Indeed, Eriksen is an attacking midfielder who has been deployed in the attacking second line at Ajax, Tottenham, and often high up the pitch at Inter Milan.
“I hope Mazrawi understood it better than I did,” says Scholes. Ten Haag’s explanation was difficult to understand and Mazrawi was not suitable for the number 10 role.”
