Sevilla pulled off a late comeback to overcome a 2-0 half-time deficit and hold Manchester United to a dramatic 2-2 lead in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.
After winning back-to-back Premier League games without conceding at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag’s men entered this fixture in high spirits despite several injury woes.
Even without standout forward Marcus Rashford, Man United enjoyed a blistering start to the game as Jadon Sancho put the ball past Sevilla goalkeeper Bono only 26 seconds in.
However, the goal didn’t stand as the Englishman was a fraction offside.
Amid speculation surrounding his future, Bayern Munich loanee Marcel Sabitzer showed why United should sign him permanently.
He found some space on the edge of the box and unleashed an unstoppable strike after receiving a delightful through ball from Bruno Fernandes to open the scoring in the 15th minute.
You’d think lightning never strikes the same place twice, but Sabitzer proved the statement wrong, as he slotted home from an identical position only six minutes later to put Man United 2-0 up.
Ten Hag’s men controlled proceedings in the first half with slick passing and unrelenting press and could’ve entered half-time with a more significant lead.
Despite taking their foot off the gas at the start of the second half, United came close to tripling their lead through Antony.
The Brazilian eased past his marker and whipped a phenomenal curling effort from inside the box, but the chance went begging as the post came to Sevilla’s rescue.
Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side had some sporadic attempts to get back into this tie, but it felt like the Red Devils were never under any serious threat.
United’s sailing control of the game allowed Ten Hag to withdraw several key first-team figures, including Fernandes and Anthony Martial, early in the second half.
But a lackadaisical second-half attitude backfired on United as Sevilla grabbed a late goal, thanks to a woeful reaction from Tyrell Malacia, who scored an unfortunate own goal in the 85th minute.
Things went from bad to worse when Youssef En-Nesyri’s towering header took an awkward deflection of second-half substitute Harry Maguire and finished in the back of the net.
What looked like a routine win turned into a nightmare, but it could be a lesson for Ten Hag not to take anything for granted.
