Man United falter at the death yet again

Manchester United’s season-long inability to win games they dominate came back to haunt them yet again in Brussels as a late goal from Anderlecht in the Europa League quarter-final denied them victory and sent Jose Mourinho’s side into Sunday’s clash against his old club Chelsea with a familiar air of frustration hanging in the air.

The truth is that United looked home and dry in Belgium ahead of next week’s second leg until, out of the blue, a stunning 85th minute header from Leander Dendoncker, rising effortlessly above Matteo Darmian, changed the whole feeling of the night.

On the face of it a 1-1 draw in the first leg of a major European tie is still a positive result and leaves Mourinho’s side as favourites to go through; but in a season in which United have drawn 14 games — and on a night when Henrikh Mkhitaryan put them ahead in a match they controlled — it still leaves a bitter taste to deal with.