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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Richard Fay

Manchester United's big issue against Sevilla doesn't have a quick fix

There is a real danger of overreacting to the manner of Manchester United's devastating draw against Sevilla.

Yes, there is no escaping the fact that United somehow managed to blow a comfortable two-goal lead in the dying moments, but the positive is that they deserved to have killed the game off in the first place.

With a second leg to come in Spain next week, Erik ten Hag's side are still in a good position to progress, and the hope is that their late collapse could actually wipe out any complacency and inspire an emphatic response.

Read next: United issue Lisandro Martinez update amid injury crisis

United are fortunate that they do have a second chance to put things right, and they should be judged more on how they react next week than how they collapsed on Thursday night.

What is unavoidable, though, is the glaring drop in quality beyond those who start most matches and those who mostly warm the bench. It is true that Ten Hag's hands were tied with what he could do against Sevilla given the absence of a number of key players, but the changes he made suggested complacency and contributed to them losing a grip on the game.

"I had to make them," Ten Hag protested at full-time. "There was no other way. Rapha was injured, that was the first I had to make. And then Anthony Martial, first start after a long period, so we had to make him on the 60.

"Then Bruno: I got the warning from the refs, he was short before a second booking and the same for Antony dos Santos. So I had to make the subs, I had no other choice."

There was little he could do but bring club captain Harry Maguire on for Raphael Varane at half-time following an injury scare, and replacing Bruno Fernandes with Christian Eriksen is hardly a major drop-off in quality.

The other three changes he made highlighted the sheer lack of reliable options they have in reserve. Wout Weghorst can't be faulted for his work ethic and work rate, but he can be for almost everything else he has done in a United shirt.

He is now back behind Anthony Martial in the pecking order, and with the Frenchman set to leave this summer, there is now an argument that United actually need to sign two strikers at the end of the season.

Anthony Elanga has been penciled in for a loan move, and that looks like the best solution for all parties. He has shown glimpses of promise in his United career but is now approaching 14 months without a senior goal.

He appears to be lacking in confidence, which is exacerbated by the sporadic minutes he is given in games, usually when his team is desperate for a goal or the tie is all but over. It is not conducive to positive development.

There is more mitigation for Facundo Pellistri. He has mostly made an impact whenever he has been introduced into matches, but he is very much a raw talent who has a lot of work to do before he is properly first-team ready.

Pellistri has still only made 44 senior appearances in European football since his arrival almost three years ago, and is another player who will leave on loan this summer in order to get those meaningful minutes at a level better suited to his current ability.

It is true that three attacking changes can't be the only excuse for their late capitulation, but they certainly set the tone by lowering the quality and giving Sevilla the confidence to push higher up the pitch.

The problem with United's defensive self-destruction is that Maguire was the best option they had at that time to strengthen their backline, and there was no other choice but to play Tyrell Malacia at left-back either.

It is as much a compliment to those who usually start that their quality was missed as it is a warning sign that they still don't have the squad depth to rival the very best.

Ten Hag got his substitutions horribly wrong, but he didn't have much choice.

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