This was a sixth win in a row in all competitions for Athletic Bilbao.© AFP

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag admitted his team lacked a “killing” instinct in their Europa League 1-1 draw at Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce on Thursday as Tottenham made it three wins from three with a 1-0 win at home to AZ. Joshua Zirkzee teed up Christian Eriksen to blast United ahead after 15 minutes from the edge of the area in Istanbul. United goalkeeper Andre Onana made a superb double-save to parry two Youssef En-Nesyri headers to protect their lead at half-time.

It was wiped out, however, within four minutes of the restart as sloppy defending allowed En-Nesyri to head in Allan Saint-Maximin’s inviting cross.

A point leaves United languishing in 21st spot in the 36-team table and they have now gone a full calendar year without winning a European game.

“We have to win and we get again in the position to win, but we have to be killing (the opponent off) more,” said Ten Hag. “We let the opponent get away with the point.”

Former Man Utd boss Mourinho, now in charge of the Turkish side, was sent-off for protesting too vigorously when French referee Clement Turpin turned down a penalty appeal.

“He (the referee) told me something incredible. He could see the action in the box and my behaviour on the touchline,” said Mourinho.

“I congratulate him because it is incredible his peripheral vision. During the game, 100 miles per hour, he had one eye on the penalty situation and one eye on the bench and my behaviour. That is why he is one of the best referees in the world.”

Ticked off

Spurs are one of three teams to have won all three matches alongside Lazio and Anderlecht who enjoyed 2-0 wins over Twente and Ludogorets respectively.

The London side made a host of changes to the side that beat West Ham 4-1 in the Premier League at the weekend and one of the newcomers, 17-year-old Mikey Moore, almost gave them an early lead but headed wide.

The introduction of Brennan Johnson at half-time moved Spurs up a gear and they were awarded a penalty in the 53rd minute when Lucas Bergvall was brought down.

James Maddison passed the ball to Brazilian striker Richarlison who slammed the ball down the middle to put Spurs in front.

AZ had Moller Wolfe sent off for a bad tackle on Johnson as Spurs held on for the win.

“Another one ticked off,” Spurs captain Maddison told TNT Sports. “That’s three in three, nine points puts us in a very good position.”

Lazio prefect

Lazio kept their 100 percent record intact with Pedro Rodriguez and Gustav Isaksen on target in a 2-0 win at Twente while English winger Samuel Edozie and Anders Dreyer scored in Anderlecht’s 2-0 victory at home to Ludogorets.

Rangers produced one of the performances of the night with Vaclav Cerny scoring twice in a 4-0 win over FCSB which lifts them to 11th in the table.

“I still see a lot of things we can improve on, but I’m happy everybody can see there’s potential in this squad,” said Rangers boss Philippe Clement after the club’s biggest European win in 17 years.

Ajax sit fourth with seven points after a testy 3-0 win at Qarabag which saw the Azerbaijani side ending the match with nine players, Julio Romao sent off after just 15 minutes and Elvin Jafarguliyev following him 11 minutes from time.

Kenneth Taylor put the Dutch side ahead in the 36th minute. A penalty from Wout Weghorst made the game safe in the 74th minute with Chuba Akpom sealing it three minutes later.

Jose Mourinho says struggling Manchester United “will succeed sooner or later” as the Fenerbahce boss prepares to take on his former club in the Europa League on Thursday. United manager Erik ten Hag is under pressure after a poor start to the season, which has included draws in their first two European matches — against Twente and Porto. But Mourinho, who has also managed a string of other high-profile clubs including Chelsea, Real Madrid and Tottenham, said United had potential and he wants them to succeed. “Maybe you English guys think I’m bluffing, think I am playing mind games,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday. “I’m not playing anything — they have a better team than the results are showing.

“I studied them the maximum I could with my staff and my analysts. We watched everything in the Premier League, we watched everything in the two matches, Twente and Porto — there is work there.

“They will succeed sooner or later. Hopefully sooner and hopefully before one day I go back to the Premier League and they become my opponents. 

“At this moment they are just my opponents for one match.”

Mourinho, who managed United between 2016 and 2018, winning the League Cup and Europa League, was asked why his former club had struggled over the past decade.

“Honestly, I didn’t lose one minute thinking about it,” he said. “I wish the best to Man Utd since the moment I left.

“I left with a good feeling for the club, with a good feeling for the fans and I want the best for them, so if things are not going amazingly well for them it’s not something that makes me happy, but at the same time I have no time.”

The 61-year-old suggested that during his own reign at Old Trafford, the United hierarchy had not had the same patience they were showing towards Ten Hag.

“What happened for sure, because it’s very objective, is that they kept faith with the coach, they support the coach, who is staying season after season and that means stability, means trust and they are giving him conditions to keep developing his job,” he said.

“That was a difference in relation to me because as you know we won the Europa League, we finished second in the Premier League.”

Mourinho, who was named as the new Fenerbahce coach in June following his sacking by Roma, said United would be at “maximum strength” for the match in Istanbul.

“One thing are the results that Manchester United are having and another thing is the potential of the team,” he said. “The potential of the team is high.”

He added: “If I have to say now which are the two biggest candidates to win the Europa League, I think it’s easy — Manchester United and Tottenham.

“The Premier League is a different level of quality, intensity, pace, tactical culture — a different level of everything.

“Tomorrow, I think we are going to play against one of the two strongest teams.”

Manchester United will travel to Turkish giants Fenerbahce, now coached by Jose Mourinho, among their eight games in the league phase of the new-look Europa League, the draw for which took place in Monaco on Friday. The Old Trafford club won the Europa League with Mourinho as coach in 2017. He recently became coach of Fenerbahce, who were knocked out of the Champions League in the third qualifying round. United will also notably play at home to 2022 Europa League runners-up Rangers and go to Portugal to play Porto, another of Mourinho’s old sides.

Tottenham Hotspur, the other English representative in the competition, will also take on Rangers, in their case away from home.

In addition, Ange Postecoglou’s side will play at home to Roma and go to Istanbul to face Turkish champions Galatasaray.

The format of the Europa League has changed for this season, along the same lines of the new-look Champions League.

The number of clubs in the competition proper is now 36, all of whom are placed into one league but split into four pots of seeds.

Each participant plays eight games, facing two clubs from each pot, one at home and one away.

For Rangers, other opponents will include Lyon at home, Olympiakos away, and Nice away in France.

Other clubs involved in the competition include former European champions in Ajax as well as FCSB of Romania, who won the 1986 European Cup as Steaua Bucharest.

Eintracht Frankfurt, who beat Rangers in the final two years ago, are present along with Athletic Bilbao, whose stadium will host this season’s final.

The top eight at the end of the league phase — which runs until the end of January — will advance to the last 16, while the teams finishing from ninth to 24th will advance to a play-off round to decide the remaining last-16 spots.

The bottom 12 in the league phase will be eliminated, with no clubs dropping down into the Conference League ahead of the knockouts, and no teams parachuting down from the Champions League as in the past.

UEFA have said that dates for all fixtures will be announced on Saturday. The first group games will be played on September 25 and 26, a week after the opening matchday of the Champions League.

This season’s Europa League final will be played in Bilbao on May 21 next year. Atalanta won the trophy last season, beating Bayer Leverkusen in the final in Dublin.