Three things Man Utd can learn from Roma’s Champions League draw against Fenerbahce

Roma got their European campaign underway with a 1-1 draw against Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

Travelling to Fenerbahce can be a daunting task for any team, but Manchester United’s upcoming Champions League opponents came away from Istanbul with one point on Thursday night.

An in-form Roma side had to be patient before scoring the opening goal in the 39th minute, but they conceded an equaliser in the early stages of the second half.

Here are three things United can learn from Roma after their 1-1 draw against Fenerbahce.

Fenerbahce are expected to go at teams at home, riled up by the atmosphere created by their fans.

That wasn’t the case tonight as they showed too much respect to their Italian guests in the first half.

Roma took advantage of this when Bryan Cristante opened the scoring, but the Turkish side woke up after the break as the match became a more even battle.

United cannot afford to start slowly against Roma when they take on Gian Piero Gasperini’s side at Old Trafford on November 3.

Roma will regret not taking advantage of their best attacking play in the first half, presumably feeling as though they should have been further ahead.

Paulo Dybala was at the centre of everything in the final third for Roma, but former Aston Villa forward Donyell Malen did superbly to tee up Cristante for the opener after getting away from several Fenerbahce defenders.

With United shaky at the back this season, Michael Carrick’s side shouldn’t underestimate Malen or Dybala, even if the Dutch striker was a flop in the Premier League.

Former United forward Mason Greenwood registered an assist against Roma.

The Italian outfit pinned Fenerbahce back in the first half, squeezing them into their own half. This meant Greenwood had to pick up the ball from deep positions, but he still troubled Roma’s defenders by running at them.

That changed three minutes into the second half when Greenwood played a through ball to Archie Brown for the equaliser.

Greenwood spent much of the match in his own half, but when he got on the ball in the final third, Roma were under pressure.