Porto performance can reset the tone

The Reds were excellent when beating Barcelona over two legs in the Europa League, during Erik ten Hag’s first season in charge, and looked capable of shining on that stage.

I was fortunate to attend both games and the 2-2 draw in the Nou Camp featured a memorable display that, I feel, deserved more than a point, with Marcus Rashford in scintillating form and a constant menace for the Catalans’ defence.

Back at Old Trafford, the concession of a harsh penalty threatened our progress but Brazilians Fred and Antony came up trumps to provide surely the best European night at our famous ground for many a year, highlighting the bond and connection between the crowd and the players.

Since then, there can be no denying our form on the continent has not been good. The Champions League campaign in 2023/24 yielded only one win, when Harry Maguire’s goal and Andre Onana’s penalty save secured a 1-0 victory over FC Copenhagen, and it was not a memorable return to the top competition.

With a Europa League spot clinched via the sweet Emirates FA Cup triumph in the final game of last term, the bookmakers installed the Reds as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in Bilbao next May. Such pressure goes with the territory at a club like United but Erik’s men could only gain a point from our opening fixture, the home clash with his former club FC Twente.

Even if there are eight games at this stage in the new format, it is important to get a positive result at the Estadio do Dragao, against a side that were surprisingly beaten away to Bodo/Glimt in their first match. Everyone accepts it is no easy task but Porto have been opponents when a United team dismissed doubts about their credentials in the past.

In 1997, the visit of the Portuguese giants in the quarter-finals of the Champions League represented an acid test for Alex Ferguson’s men. The Reds had dominated domestically under the Scot, and won the Double for the second time in three seasons in the previous campaign. However, Europe had proved a step too far. Not helped by the overseas player rules, United had flattered to deceive and, ultimately, disappointed on this platform.

Porto were deemed to be among the cream of the continent and many pundits expected another stern examination at Old Trafford. It was a test passed with flying colours, thanks in no small part to some key tactical tweaks by Ferguson. We were rampant and the exhilarating football in the 4-0 victory was best epitomised by Ryan Giggs’s goal, on a raucous night that provided the belief that a first European Cup since 1967 was a realistic proposition.

It would arrive, in life-affirming circumstances a couple of years later and it goes without saying that the scenario in 2024 is very different. The Europa League, though, is a competition that warrants great respect. Even if it is a trophy won as recently as 2017, when beating Ajax in Stockholm under Jose Mourinho, a manager we will meet again in our next European fixture, there is the sense that tonight’s game represents a chance to regain some of our status on the continent.

Following the 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, albeit in the context of a first-half red card to Bruno Fernandes that was wrongly produced, there have been lots of questions asked about the side. The setting in Portugal feels like one that allows at least one or two of these to be answered positively.

While the 1997 win over Porto can be viewed as a watershed one in the development of the standing of Ferguson’s team at that time, a convincing display against the Dragons can, perhaps, show that United deserve to be considered as one of the chief protagonists for the Europa League trophy.

Steps need to be taken and the travelling United fans will be hoping for a sign that these trips will continue all the way up to a date at San Mames, which is a tantalising prospect for those who love following the Reds abroad.

The opinions in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of Manchester United Football Club.