Talking points from Copenhagen

Rasmus Hojlund's double had the Reds coasting, but a red card for Marcus Rashford – awarded after intervention from the Video Assistant Referee – proved pivotal and the Danes hauled themselves back level with a goal from Mohamed Elyounoussi and Diogo Goncalves's penalty before the break.

A spot-kick at the other end, scored by Bruno Fernandes, looked to have the Reds leaving Denmark happy and in second place in Group A, given Galatasaray's defeat in Munich.

But there was a sting in the tail, as Lukas Lerager and Roony Bardghji capitalised on defensive mistakes to consign us to bottom spot with two matches to play.

Here's what we noticed in the Danish capital...

ONE PETER SCHMEICHEL

That’s what the visiting Reds amassed behind the goal were chanting loudly, as our legendary former stopper conducted his broadcasting duties pitchside in the build-up to kick-off. A regular presence in the media centre now at Old Trafford too, Peter is a pundit for Danish channel TV3+. He did, however, play for FC Copenhagen’s arch-rivals Brondby, so the home fans may not have totally agreed with the sentiment from United's travelling support!

TEAM TWEAKS

Although Erik ten Hag made only one change from Saturday’s win at Fulham, with Marcus Rashford coming in for Antony, only seven of United’s starting personnel also featured from the off in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford. Jonny Evans, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Christian Eriksen – playing a senior club game in his homeland for the first time – and Alejandro Garnacho were starting in place of Raphael Varane, Sergio Reguilon, Sofyan Amrabat and Antony, all of whom were named on the bench. The home side, after a positive performance in Manchester, were completely unchanged.

FEBRILE ATMOSPHERE

Copenhagen coach Jacob Neestrup launched headlines on Tuesday with his claim that Parken’s hardcore would generate an atmosphere ‘100 times more intense’ than Old Trafford. We’re not too sure about that, but what is certain is that they were trying something extra special when welcoming their ‘class of 2006’ – the side which, famously in these parts, beat United – back on to the pitch pre-kick-off. The chance to greet old heroes cranked up the noise further before an amazingly choreographed tifo display, proclaiming Parken to be our ‘Theatre of Nightmares’, really got the juices flowing.

HOJLUND HAUNTS FORMER CLUB

It took less than three minutes for Rasmus to register on his return to the Danish capital, as he tapped home Scott McTominay’s centre after a prolonged team move to give United a perfect start. It was his sixth goal on Parken soil, following two European strikes for Copenhagen and a hat-trick for Denmark against Finland and already his fourth of this Champions League campaign. Still only 20, Rasmus has shown he’s ready for the continent’s top tier already and he soon added another, from a rebound after a shot by Garnacho, which took him joint-top of the scoring charts with Atletico Madrid's Alvaro Morata.

RASMUS’S RARE COMPANY

Hojlund is just the fifth Red to have scored in a European Cup or Champions League away match in his own country – not counting finals. Cristiano Ronaldo did it twice, against Sporting and Porto in 2007 and 2009 respectively, while his former strike partner Wayne Rooney notched at Chelsea 12 years ago. Memphis registered on his Champions League debut at former club PSV Eindhoven under Louis van Gaal, but you’d have to go back to 1957 for the first occurrence as Ireland’s Billy Whelan managed a brace at Shamrock Rovers.

SEVERAL STOPPAGES IN PLAY

Play was paused twice in the opening quarter of an hour, as first a protestor ran on to the field before an injury to Evans sent both teams over to the sidelines for drinks and further instructions. Varane eventually replaced the Northern Irishman, as he couldn't continue, but during this time a Copenhagen fan on the far side was taken ill. There were worrying scenes as medical staff raced across the pitch and a sheet was held up to protect his privacy. Fortunately, the stadium announcer told the crowd soon after that the person was awake and responsive and, of course, we hope they make a full recovery. Thirteen minutes were added to the end of the half as a result, and that would end up being quite important.

MORE VAR CONTROVERSY

Just as United seemed to be coasting towards a comfortable victory, an intervention by the Video Assistant Referee saw us reduced to 10 men. Few in the ground had seen Rashford make contact with full-back Elias Jelert and, when the stadium screens proclaimed ‘VAR check over’, it seemed as though our no.10 had escaped punishment. But referee Donatas Rumsas was still called over to the pitchside monitor and, after viewing the incident several times in slow motion, he decided that the incident warranted a red. To rub further salt in the wound, Elyounoussi turned the ball home moments later to halve the deficit, before Goncalves slotted a spot-kick awarded for handball on Harry Maguire. Back to square one...

PENALTY PAIN

The decision to award the pen means United have now had to face an effort from 12 yards in each of this season's Champions League encounters. Goncalves joins Harry Kane of Bayern Munich in successfully scoring past Andre Onana, while the Cameroonian of course saved from Jordan Larsson at Old Trafford in October. Galatasaray's Mauro Icardi put his kick wide of the goal, but later scored the winner for the Turks in M16.

PENALTY JOY

The numerical disadvantage meant United had to approach the second half differently. A possession-first approach was preferred by Ten Hag’s side, with the get-it-forward-fast counter-attacking style seen in the opening half hour abandoned. Onana and his defenders also pushed their luck a little with the referee’s watch, with Rumsas urging them to speed it up on a couple of occasions. And the official would be centre stage again when, with 25 minutes to play, Lerager's arm deflected the ball after a Maguire header. Another interminable interruption to the game followed, but sure enough the spot-kick was given and Fernandes stepped up to score his first Champions League goal since December 2020.

LATE HEARTBREAK

A topsy-turvy night turned finally – and fatally – against the Reds when Lerager ghosted in to finish past Onana and then Roony's shot kicked off the ground and into the back of the net. Within minutes, Ten Hag's men had gone from second in Group A to bottom, although all is not yet lost...

THE GROUP PICTURE

Despite losing three out of four group games, United are still only a point behind Copenhagen and Galatasaray, who, although they held on for 80 minutes in Munich were beaten 2-1 by Bayern. Our meeting with the Turks in Istanbul in three weeks' time is now a must-win, while we'll also probably need to beat Thomas Tuchel's men at Old Trafford in December if we are to progress. Even two wins won't be enough, if the Danes record back-to-back victories in their final pair of games.