Manchester United have been beaten 3-0 by Sevilla. Here is a look at five things we learned from a disappointing result…
Manchester United’s Europa League adventure ends
After seeing off Barcelona and Real Betis, Manchester United hoped to have ditched the hoodoo against Spanish teams.
Defeating Sevilla over too legs proved a bridge too far for this injury hit squad. This is the sixth successive season Manchester United have been knocked out of Europe by a La Liga team, three times by Sevilla.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the 13th ranked side in Spain is embarrassing. This was a calamitous display.
Winning three cup competitions was always a big ask. Now the best possible outcome is two. Defeat here means United must lift themselves quickly for the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton on Sunday.
David de Gea and Harry Maguire at fault for first goal
BT Sport described Sevilla’s opening goal as a ‘self inflicted wound’ by Manchester United, a description which was absolutely spot on.
Harry Maguire gave the ball away in farcical circumstances when trying to play the ball out from the back.
It was a calamitous error – and one he is not solely responsible for. Goalkeeper David de Gea must share the blame for the error.
De Gea should not have passed the ball to Maguire, who had three Sevilla players around him, when Aaron Wan-Bissaka was free, or he could simply have hoofed the ball upfield.
It was further evidence De Gea simply is not the ‘multi functional’ goalkeeper Erik ten Hag claims him to be. He could have done better for the second goal too – while the third was a complete embarrassment.
As for Maguire, well he is all we have right now due to injuries. Given a choice, Erik ten Hag would have left him on the bench for this game.
Bruno Fernandes was badly missed
Bruno Fernandes‘ suspension was always going to be a tough hurdle to overcome. The midfielder really is the heartbeat of this team.
United are used to being without many other players in the team. Fernandes is not usually absent.
A lack of creativity in the first half only helped Sevilla pile on the pressure, with the Red Devils landing just one shot on target.
His spirit was missed too. United lacked spark, edge, and were too passive on and off the ball.
Anthony Martial gets injured again
We wondered how long Anthony Martial’s return to fitness would last. This is a player who has not completed 90 minutes for the club since 2021.
He hobbled off after 52 minutes of this tie, suffering an injury in Seville just like he did three times on his loan spell last season.
Right now we feel like giving up on Martial. He is too unreliable, and who knows if we will see him again this season.
Manchester United threw it away
This performance was woeful and Sevilla deserve credit for getting one over on us once again. But if we are looking deeper into this, Manchester United threw this tie away in the first leg.
2-0 up after 20 minutes at Old Trafford, Manchester United should have been out of sight last week and put this tie to bed before the return leg.
Instead the team took their foot off the gas and made two late game errors to draw the game 2-2, and give Sevilla belief for this second leg.