Mourinho reunion a reminder of how little has changed for woeful United

Manchester United's reunion with former boss Jose Mourinho in tonight's Europa League trip to Fenerbahce serves as a painful reminder of how little has changed for the troubled Old Trafford club since he was sacked six years ago.

United's current manager Erik ten Hag secured a stay of execution with a 2-1 victory over Brentford on Saturday to snap a five-game winless run. But the Dutchman remains under intense pressure as United languish in the bottom half of the English Premier League.

With just two points from their two Europa League games, a defeat at the hands of Mourinho would be another blow in Ten Hag's fight for survival.

United had turned to Mourinho in 2016, hoping they could rival Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool.

During his 2 1/2 years, Mourinho did win the League Cup and Europa League in his first season. In his second season, United finished second to Guardiola's City.

Things quickly unravelled as the former Chelsea boss was dismissed by United before Christmas in his third campaign.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Ralf Rangnick and Ten Hag came in, but the 81 points Mourinho achieved remains by a distance United's best Premier League performance in the 11 years since the retirement of Alex Ferguson.

"It's not just about this season, it's since we won the last league in 2013, the club has been like in a chaos," former United defender Patrice Evra said.

Mourinho has his own problems now, with Fenerbahce eight points behind Istanbul rivals Galatasaray at the top of the Turkish Super Lig.

But United's visit gives the 61-year-old the big-match stage he craves to answer his critics.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE