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The Red Devils still cannot get the better of Sevilla, and Erik ten Hag will bemoan his team’s egregious game management at Old Trafford.
Well, that was fun. Manchester United and Sevilla played out a dramatic first-leg encounter at Old Trafford that ended 2-2 after the Red Devils had raced into a two-goal advantage and threatened to run away with the game after 45 minutes.
Much of the pre-match talk was focused on Marcus Rashford’s absence and how Erik ten Hag would rejig his side without the team’s top scorer.
It all seemed overblown at times, owing to the array of talent in this United squad, but there was logic to those pre-game questions.
The Englishman had netted 20 and assisted five of the team’s 57 goals in all competitions since club football returned post-World Cup, a statistic not lost on observers before kick-off on Thursday night.
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17:29 - 12.04.2023
FOOTBALL Injury blow for Man United with Rashford to miss crucial games
The injury occurred during Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win over Everton at Old Trafford, and Rashford was substituted in the 80th minute, immediately heading to the dressing room for treatment.
That number became 20 in 59 goals (25 goal contributions) after the 2-2 draw in Manchester, leaving the Red Devils still winless against the side from Seville after five attempts (including friendly games), despite extending their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 26 games.
In a sense, this was United’s best chance to end their three-game competitive winless run against the Andalusians, so the inability to hold on was a kick in the teeth.
The Rojiblancos are struggling in La Liga, five points off the drop zone and currently on their third head coach of the season after Julen Lopetegui was shown the exit door and Jorge Sampaoli’s return proved to be calamitous. They face relegation for the first time since 2000.
Thursday’s game was Jose Luis Mendilibar’s third since replacing the Argentinean, and it sure looked that way as United made a strong start without their post-World Cup talisman.
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Good Manchester United
Antony — derided for his limitations and inclination to showboat unnecessarily — was lively, unlucky not to register an opening-minute assist after Jadon Sancho drifted offside. He offered a level of directness and aggressive ball-carrying seldom seen consistently in his debut season in England.
Marcel Sabitzer netted twice in the opening half running beyond Anthony Martial and into advanced positions.
Observers expected the Austrian to play deeper with the returning Casemiro, but Ten Hag deployed him higher up the pitch, effectively replicating the approach from last Saturday’s 2-0 triumph against Everton when the on-loan midfielder was more forward-thinking than Bruno Fernandes.
Martial was imperious in those opening 45 minutes, repaying the faith shown by his manager about 24 hours earlier.
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“When he is in the team, I refer to games against Man City and Liverpool, we play our best football and have the best results as a team,” said Ten Hag before facing Sevilla.
"I see how he contributes to this team.”
And he did contribute in the first half. Martial was involved in both moves preceding Sabitzer’s brace, directly setting up the Bayern Munich loanee’s second by slipping the advanced midfielder through after a positive ball carry.
The forward has been involved in 10 goals in just 860 minutes of match action in 2022-23, scoring or assisting every 86 minutes played. For most of the night, we saw good Martial.
Bad Manchester United
With the Red Devils 2-0 up, game management was expected after the interlude. But what ensued exposed an inadequacy of this Ten Hag side. Manchester United eschewed control for chaos in the second half, not looking to control the game or frustrate the visiting side.
At times, it looked like the hosts were the side 2-0 down, desperately pushing forward to either half the deficit or even score twice to make it 2-2 to set up a mouth-watering reverse fixture. However, that could not be further from reality.
United needed to make the second 45 minutes as uneventful as they possibly could, not give in to the end-to-end, chaotic events that ensued.
Admittedly, they could have added a third before Sevilla fortuitously halved the deficit, with Antony almost getting a goal his performance on the night deserved only to be denied by the woodwork on the hour and Malacia, seemingly unsure after the ball fell to him inside the penalty area, dragged a shot wide with eight minutes of the 90 left.
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23:36 - 13.04.2023
Manchester United manager blames Sevilla draw on bad luck
Erik Ten Hag has said his side were unlucky to concede two late own goals against Sevilla
A minute later, Sevilla scored, and the Dutchman was culpable. Eight minutes later, it was 2-2 after Harry Maguire unwittingly diverted Youssef En-Nesyri’s header past David De Gea.
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Man Utd had somehow contrived to lose their advantage, becoming the second English side to score two own goals in a major European competition.
Ten Hag bemoaned the team’s ill luck post-game, the injuries to Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez and the nature of Sevilla’s goals, but the manager and players’ game management was egregious.
Perhaps it was an upshot of the profile of this group not to have that much in-game authority, and it will hurt double if they are eliminated in Seville next Thursday.
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22:02 - 13.04.2023
WHAT'S BUZZIN 'Maguire, why?!' -Epic Reactions as Man United dramatically throw away 2-goal lead against Sevilla in the Europa League
Two own goals was enough for Sevilla to run away with a point at Old Trafford in their first-leg quarterfinal clash in the Europa League, much to the displeasure of United fans who have taken to social media to react.
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