Manchester United suffer late blow in Belgium

A familiar tale for Manchester United: they controlled the game and actually looked more menacing than usual, but failed to make their dominance count before conceding a late goal to give Anderlecht a sniff in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final.

Anderlecht actually started the game the stronger, but after the first quarter-hour United took over in midfield thanks to the passing of Paul Pogba and Michael Carrick. Meanwhile, outside them, the running of Marcus Rashford and movement of Jesse Lingard caused the Anderlecht defence all manner of difficulty.

As such, it was no great surprise when United took the lead on 36 minutes, a probing, patient passing move setting Antonio Valencia free down the right. Unusually, his cross was a good one and Marcus Rashford directed it goalwards; Ruben Martinez then parried, but Henrikh Mkhitaryan was on-hand to make a difficult finish look easy, ramming into the roof of the net from an acute angle.

The flow of the game changed a little in the second half, Anderlecht attacking with more confidence, though United were still by far the better team. But on 83 minutes, Paul Pogba missed a superb chance, and three minutes after that, the home team were level, Leander Dendoncker thumping home a header from Ivan Obradovic's superb cross while Matteo Darmian and Marouane Fellaini watched.

So, United must be on their mettle when the sides reconvene next week - after a quick weekend encounter with Chelsea.

Has Mourinho really changed? Two weeks ago, Manchester United played Middlesbrough, a team low on quality and confidence. When they were 2-0-up, Mourinho sent on a defender, the whole team dropped, Boro scored, and United found themselves in a scrap for the points. And similar happened tonight, Mourinho opting to protect a narrow lead by removing Rashford, who'd been excellent, and sending on Fellaini. No one who watches United will have been surprised when what happened next happened next.

Michael Carrick (Manchester United) Controlled the pace of the game with his short passing and set United's attackers going with his long passing. Will be crucial in the second leg.

Anderlecht: Martinez 6, Appiah 5, Nuytinck 7, Kara 8, Obradovic 7, Dendoncker 6, Tielemans 5, Stanciu 5, Bruno 5, Thelin 5, Acheampong 7. Subs: Chipciu 6, Hanni 7, Teodorczyk 6.

Manchester United: Romero 6, Valencia 7, Bailly 7, Rojo 6, Darmian 6, Carrick 8, Pogba 7, Mkhitaryan 7, Lingard 7, Ibrahimovic 6, Rashford 7. Subs: Martial 5, Fellaini 5, Fosu-Mensah 5.

17’ - UNITED HIT THE POST! Brilliant cross from Rashford, which has Zlatan and Obradovic sliding in; Zlatan gets there first, but can only poke at Martinez. The ball then breaks towards Lingard, and he beats Obradovic to it, extending a leg to jab against the woodwork. And United maintain the pressure, Rashford diddling Appiah who does well to come back at him, before picking up the ball in the middle and unleashing a dipper that flies just wide of the top corner.

36’ - GOAL! Anderlecht 0-1 Manchester United (Mkhitaryan) That was coming; not something one has said very often about Mourinho's United. But, at the end of a long period of probing, Zlatan works the ball wide to Valencia who, for once, delivers a decent cross, met by Rashford on the half-volley. He turns it towards the far post, where Martinez does well to parry, but Mkhitaryan follows in to ram into the roof of the net from an acute angle, making a tricky finish look pips.

50’ - Much better from Anderlecht, Obradovic weaving across the face of the box and finding Bruno, whose shot is deflected; Valencia does superbly to hoik it away from under the bar, then block Thelin's follow-up shot. And the home side haven't finished, Tielemans playing a superb ball into the box for Acheampong; somehow, Valencia pokes it away from behind, without conceding a penalty.

72’ - Mistake from Bailly sees Tielemans seizing on space inside the box, left-hand side, and he cuts back well only for Darmian to slide into a challenge, snaffling possession and allowing Carrick to hump clear. That is brilliant, goal-saving defending.

83’ - Lovely from Zlatan, spotting a superb run from Pogba at inside-right and picking him out with a short pass. Pogba sits Martinez down too, but as he did against Liverpool and Bournemouth, he can't slide home a finish, hitting the keeper's leg much to his disgust.

86’ - GOAL! Anderlecht 1-1 Manchester United (Dendoncker) This is an excellent goal, Obradovic nashing down the left and clipping over a brilliant cross. It's met on the run and ahead of Darmian by Dendoncker, while Fellaini ponders the meaning of life; a thumping header then zooms past Romero. Once again, United's failure to take their chances comes back to devour their buttocks.