This was a slipshod and frantic display that confirms Manchester United remain a confused bunch under José Mourinho.Paul Pogba limped off before the half hour but that may have been a blessing owing to his underwhelming contribution since his world-record transfer in the summer. The Frenchman’s replacement, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, had a match to forget, again looking off the pace and in need of next week’s international break.

He is not the only United player who appears lost. The defence were constantly overrun – perhaps because the midfield went awol – and though Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford showed flashes of quality, Wayne Rooney was virtually anonymous until an 89th-minute consolation that is goal No247 for the club.

All of this suggests Mourinho has work to do on a side third in their Europa League group and whose Premier League title challenge is languishing in eighth place, eight points behind Manchester City.

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The nightmare started after 69 seconds. When Hasan Ali Kaldirim’s hopeful punt came in from the left Daley Blind and Marcos Rojo failed to close down Moussa Sow. This allowed the Senegal forward to launch an audacious overhead kick that beat David de Gea, gave Fenerbahce the lead, left the goalkeeper bemused and Mourinho a picture of quiet fury. No wonder: this was a near replica of the dire beginning at Chelsea, when Pedro scored after 30 seconds and United ended on the wrong end of a 4-0 hammering.

Any hope of silencing a raucous stadium was gone. A firecracker atmosphere now had an opening that only sparked the faithful further.

What United needed desperately was to slow the game and lower the temperature – take hold of the ball and move Fenerbahce around. Instead, it came close to being a two-goal deficit before the quarter hour. Slick interplay between Jeremain Lens and Alper Potuk ended with the former being fouled by Morgan Schneiderlin just outside the area. The free-kick came to nothing but United were rocking.

What they needed was a sight of goal – something to offer encouragement and make Fenerbahce think. Rooney was given the chance to do so when Martial slipped him in. The 31-year-old captain was clear but an awful first touch allowed Volkan Demirel to rush out and the danger ended.

In a display of disjointed football and questionable confidence, United continued the pattern of not only this season but of those under David Moyes and Louis van Gaal. A classic illustration of the ills that continue to bedevil United came just before Pogba limped off. A Rooney corner came to Blind, who had time. An amateurish touch allowed Souza to seize possession. Fenerbahce broke, United were in disarray, and the move ended in relief when Lens missed with a volley.

Pogba’s forced exit – he had been brought down earlier – ushered Ibrahimovic into the contest. The 35-year-old took up the centre-forward position and Rooney, at first, moved into the No10 slot. From here, United dominated until the interval during a volatile period in which the niggle factor rose.

The flashpoint came in just before the interval. Ibrahimovic desperately needs a goal, which may have caused the frustration that moved him to lose his temper with Simon Kjaer as they came together. Ibrahimovic appeared to grab the defender around the throat yet neither Milorad Mazic nor the referee’s assistant saw an infringement and the United striker walked away scot-free, though loud boos became the soundtrack when he neared the ball thereafter.

The next unsavoury incident happened outside the home side’s area. Rooney lunged towards Souza, made no contact, but this did not stop the midfielder going down. It provoked Rooney and a fracas developed which featured significant involvement from Schneiderlin and Demirel. When it cleared Fenerbahce’s goalkeeper was booked and the game continued with United more or less camped inside their opponent’s territory.

Mourinho had sent out a side showing three changes from the goalless draw with Burnley. Ibrahimovic, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard were replaced by Martial, Rooney and Schneiderlin. The latter’s role ended when he was substituted for Mata and so Ander Herrera became the lone holding player in what appeared to be a 4-1-4-1 formation.

It meant Rooney dropped into the quasi-midfield role Mourinho states should never be his but which he seems unable to escape. Ibrahimovic cannot avoid blame for Lens’s second goal. He chased back admirably only to give away a free-kick 20 yards out. Up stepped the No77 with a sweet curling strike that left De Gea rooted. Mourinho instantly substituted Henrikh Mkhitaryan for Rashford. Still, Fenerbahce poured forward. Blind was unable to halt Emmanuel Emenike and De Gea had to scramble clear.

Scrambling was what United ended the match doing: it is not supposed to be like this under Mourinho.