Sevilla Held Manchester United To 2-2 Draw At Old Trafford
Erik Ten Hag and Manchester United are in perilous position heading into the second-leg of their Europa League quarter-final with Sevilla, only managing a 2-2 draw before heading to Andalusia next week.
In a match that had been billed as a chance for United to get revenge on Los Rojiblancos for a number of defeats in recent years, few could have predicted just how easy it would be for the hosts for 80 minutes.
Casemiro returned to the starting XI, but it was his midfield partner in Marcel Sabitzer who made all the difference at Old Trafford.
A fast start was demanded by Ten Hag and he got his wish when United put the ball into the net after just one minute.
A fantastic pass from Antony set Jadon Sancho through on goal and he finished his chance with ease, only for the flag to go up for offside.
Sabitzer did find the net after 14 minutes though with the Austrian being put through by Bruno Fernandes.
The former RB Leipzig midfielder placed the ball into the back of the net courtesy of a deflection over Bono.
Just five minutes later and Sabitzer had another, another brilliant run from midfield saw him one-on-one with the goalkeeper and his low shot curled into the back of the net.
Profligacy then crept into Manchester United’s game, and it ended up costing them.
Anthony Martial looked sharp but missed chances, whilst Antony caused constant problems down the right.
Manchester United were cruising into the latter stages of the game with a 2-0 advantage, even bringing on Wout Weghorst as Ten Hag looked to rest some key players.
Sevilla also looked happy to keep the scoreline there, but what was to come was bordering on the unthinkable.
Jesus Navas received the ball in a dangerous position on the right, but he made a poor decision to cut the ball back, yet inexplicably Tyrell Malacia deflected the cross goalwards and beyond David de Gea.
From the restart things got even worse for Manchester United. Lisandro Martinez has been their best player in 2022/23 and he attempted to bring the ball out of defense, but pulled up with what appeared to be a serious achilles/metatarsal injury.
He was lifted off the pitch in tears, but United would have to get their focus back on the game.
A second own-goal of the night secured a dramatic draw for Los Rojiblancos, with another hopeful cross finding the head of Youssef En-Nesyri, who fluffed his lines completely, heading the ball wide of goal.
However, the ball struck Harry Maguire in the forehead en-route and deflected beyond De Gea into the net, leaving Manchester United fans wondering just what had happened.
The hosts had gone from an easy 2-0 victory to possible elimination in the Europa League, given Sevilla’s strong record at home.
