Man United surprise 1-1 by Dutch club Twente in revamped Europa League

MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The latest setback for Manchester United came at the hands of manager Erik ten Hag’s old team, FC Twente, which drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday in the revamped Europa League.

Sam Lammers took advantage of a mistake by Christian Eriksen in the second half and quickly shot in the equalizer for the Dutch underdog.

Eriksen had put United ahead with a superb first-half goal, but was caught in possession by Lammers, whose goal earned the visitors an unexpected point.

Ten Hag had spoken before the game of his love for the team he supported as a boy in the Netherlands and represented as a player, saying it was “not nice to have to hurt something you love”, but it was the United fans who were left in pain, despite Eriksen appearing to set the home side on course for victory.

The Denmark international gave United the lead in the 35th minute with a shot into the top corner. The playmaker latched onto a loose ball just inside the penalty area and kept his composure as he fired his shot past Twente goalkeeper Lars Unnerstall with power and precision.

With a clenched fist, he ran to the corner to celebrate his goal in front of the home crowd.

But it was the Twente supporters who cheered the loudest after Lammers’ goal in the 68th minute, when he beat André Onana at the near post.

Like the Champions League, the Europa League’s second division has a new format and 36 teams instead of 32. It features a league system in which each team plays eight matches against different opponents up to and including January, replacing the old group stage.

Early victories

Norwegian club Bodø/Glimt and Dutch AZ Alkmaar were the first teams to claim a victory on Wednesday.

Jens Petter Hauge’s two goals saw Bodø/Glimt come from behind with ten men and beat Porto 3-2. Troy Parrott scored the winning goal for Alkmaar from the penalty spot, beating Swedish side Elfsborg 3-2.

Porto, two-time champions of Europe’s second division, got an early goal from Samu. Kasper Høgh equalized and Hauge scored twice for a 3-1 lead. Porto reduced the deficit to one in the final minute through substitute Deniz Gül.

Alkmaar responded to Timothy Ouma’s opening goal with two goals from Ruben van Bommel either side of half-time, with Simon Hedlund making it 2-2 before Parrott’s late penalty.

Ahead of a late-night match between Dynamo Kiev and Lazio, a group of around 60 Lazio fans were detained by German authorities in Hamburg after they attempted to evade a police escort. They were found to be carrying knives, batons and other weapons. Fans detained overnight were banned from attending Wednesday’s match, but no arrests were made.