Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night.
Erik ten Hag, also not particularly happy, talks to BT Sport. “We had the game in hand … we were 2-0 up … we should have scored three or even four … the game was totally on us … we had some unlucky moments with injuries … some subs with injuries like Rafa at half-time … also Anthony Martial we had to sub him because it was his first start … Antony and Bruno were on a second booking … so we had to make some subs and lost control at an unlucky moment … we switch off … then another unlucky moment with Martinez and we are with ten … then we conceded two own goals, it is bad luck and we have to deal with it … of course we have to learn to kill the game … but still everything is open for the next game … if you don’t get the third and you get some injuries, you lose some rhythm in the game … we played the first half very good, a lot of belief, we scored two great goals and should have scored even more … we can do better in the last part of the game … we had to be more composed … we did not benefit from our counter opportunities … we were a little bit unlucky in the defending … two own goals from deflected shots … it’s not a nice night … Martinez dropped out in a moment with no opponent involved, so it doesn’t look that great … Rafa is an injury he has complained about for the last couple of weeks so we have to see how it is now.”
A grim-faced Marcel Sabitzer – United’s two-goal hero, it’s now easy to forget – speaks to BT Sport. “I have problems finding the right words … it’s like a rollercoaster game … playing good in the first half … we had good chances and had to finish the game off … the draw is not what we wanted … we have to go to Sevilla and get it done there … we had to finish the game off, we had the chances … we had the confidence and controlled the game … but we gave easy goals away … we cannot concede these kind of goals and are very disappointed now … in a competition like this you have to be focused until the end … and if you are one percent less you can give the game away … the last minutes were a bit strange … one man down … we had to get the result done … two stupid goals, and it’s not what we wanted … we are very frustrated … you cannot concede like this … when you are 2-0 up at home, you have to get it done.”
… and here’s a Europa League round-up.
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Manchester United weren’t the only English team playing in Europe tonight. West Ham travelled to Gent for the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final, and came home with a draw.
It’ll be interesting to hear the opinions of Erik ten Hag … and we’ll hang around to wait for those. But in the meantime, David Hytner was at Old Trafford tonight, and his verdict is in. Here it is … and remember to come back, now!
A draw that feels like a defeat for Manchester United. They elegantly stormed into a two-goal lead within 21 minutes. Sevilla came back at them towards the end of the first half, and had more of the ball for much of the second half, yet never looked too dangerous. Antony came a whisker away from making it three, a wonderful shot caroming off the inside of the post … and then it all went wrong for United in short order. A triple substitution. A farcical own goal, the result of Tyrrell Malacia falling asleep with Jesus Navas wide awake beside him. A serious-looking injury to Lisandro Martinez. And then the tin lid: the concession of another own goal, the ball pinging unluckily off Harry Maguire’s head. Sevilla, who looked in danger of a hiding when United were on top early doors, will now fancy their chances of winning the tie next week at their Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium. Bruno Fernandes will be suspended too. An evening of high, weird, borderline surreal drama, and not one that United will look back on particularly fondly.
FULL TIME: Manchester United 2-2 Sevilla
How quickly that unravelled for Manchester United.
90 min +7: The corner comes to nothing, although Maguire is relieved to see the ball squeak wide of the right-hand post.
90 min +6: Sevilla are pressing for a winner against the ten men. Gomez strides down the left and wins a corner off Wan Bissaka.
90 min +5: What is it about Sevilla and the Europa League?! In the United dugout, Bruno Fernandes looks utterly stunned, his face drained of all colour.
90 min +4: On the touchline, Erik ten Hag looks perplexed. He might have a couple of questions to answer after the match about that triple substitution.
90 min +3: That header was going miles wide. Poor Maguire couldn’t do much about that. It wasn’t as egregious a mistake as the one that led to the Malacia/De Gea own goal.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-2 Sevilla (Maguire og 90+2)
A cross in from the right. En-Nesyri rises high and wins a header that’s going wide right. The ball takes a huge deflection off the nearby Maguire’s head, and squeaks into the bottom left, past De Gea’s despairing lunge.
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90 min +1: The first of six added minutes, and here’s another big save by De Gea! A cross from the left. En-Nesyri heads towards the left-hand side of the net, but the keeper turns the ball away. Corner coming up.
90 min: Before the free kick can be taken, Gomez replaces Montiel. Then Gudelj batters the set piece into the wall.
89 min: Suso sashays in from the right and whips a fierce effort towards the top left. De Gea punches clear. Acuna tries to latch onto the loose ball but is high-kicked by Pellistri, who goes into the book. Free kick just to the left of the United D.
88 min: United are down to ten men as a result of the Martinez injury. Meanwhile the Sevilla goal has been awarded to Malacia, who certainly deflected Navas’s cut-back towards the keeper … but was it going wide of the left-hand post without De Gea’s intervention? Not sure.
86 min: Injury is added to insult as Martinez goes down with nobody around him. That might be an achilles injury. He’s helped off and before he can be put onto the stretcher, dissolves into tears.
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GOAL! Manchester United 2-1 Sevilla (Malacia og 84)
Fernando’s cross comes in diagonally from the left. Malacia should clear, but switches off. Navas nips in on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. He cuts back. The ball pings off Malacia, then off De Gea, and into the top right. What a farce … and everything suddenly changes.
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82 min: Pellistri’s first act is to hook a ball back from the byline to the right of goal. Sabitzer and Weghorst combine to tee up Malacia on the penalty spot. Malacia hesitates before aiming for the bottom right. Fernando blocks. The resulting corner leads to nothing.
81 min: Pellistri comes on for Antony.
80 min: Suso has the chance to release Navas down the right but misplaces the pass. Navas, in an attempt to check his run and retrieve the ball, falls and twists his leg. For a second it looks serious, but happily Navas soon gets back up.
78 min: Juventus have taken the lead against Sporting, defender Federico Gatti with the goal. The winner of that tie will face the winner of this one in the semis.
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76 min: A nice moment off the ball, as Antony is spotted wandering across to Acuna, hand covering mouth, and says something that leads both to burst out laughing. Turns out it’s only a game after all.
75 min: Acuna and Antony continue to spar. A huge smile plays across Acuna’s face. The crowd then get involved as they compete for a header, only for Acuna to fall over. All good pantomime fun.
73 min: Nianzou is replaced by Suso, formerly of Liverpool, a detail that won’t have gone unnoticed by some denizens of Old Trafford.
72 min: Acuna is booked for retributive swipe at Antony. Some frontier justice dished out there, Antony having earlier got away with that swipe at his ankles.
70 min: Montiel’s next act is to blooter a loose ball away from the Sevilla box, with Weghorst preparing to pounce on it. He then exchanges some none-too-friendly words with the big Dutch striker. Yep, there’s an edge to this match now.
69 min: Montiel is back up and running, but not happy, having discussed the matter at length with the fourth official. A slight edge developing here.
68 min: Weghorst claps Montiel on the ear. Montiel goes down and complains quite a lot. It looked accidental, and the referee seems minded to agree. A pause as Montiel rolls around.
67 min: Sevilla replace Lamela with En-Hesyri.
66 min: Bono faffs around over a clearance, and Weghorst closes him down. The rebound flies wide left of the goal. Lucky, lucky Bono.
64 min: Antony dribbles with purpose down the right, but can’t find anybody with his cutback. Then another phase of play, as Antony and Acuna tussle down the right. The pair suddenly square up, the result of Antony taking a frustrated swipe at Acuna’s ankles. You know, were VAR so inclined, Antony could have been in a spot of bother there. But the VAR dude is not so inclined.
63 min: United make that triple change. Off go Fernandes, Martial and Sancho; on come Eriksen, Elanga and Weghorst.
61 min: United have been poor since the restart, but this is sensational from Antony, who drops a shoulder to glide in from the left to see off Marcao, then curls powerfully towards the top left. Bono is beaten all ends up, but the ball twangs off the inside of the post, and Sevilla clear their lines. So close to a third!
60 min: United are getting a little sloppy here, and the home fans are getting a little agitated. In not unrelated news, Erik ten Hag appears to be preparing a triple substitution.
58 min: Casemiro is fine to continue.
57 min: Ocampos crosses from the right. Gudelj channels his inner Mark Hughes and attempts a bicycle kick, only to hoof Casemiro flush in his startled grid. Gudelj goes into the book.
56 min: Two balls on the pitch. A pause in play.
54 min: Sancho runs at pace down the left but his attempt to feed Malacia on the overlap is misguided and Montiel can shepherd the ball out for a goal kick. “Sancho is still far from the heights he reached at Dortmund,” observes Kári Tulinius. “I wonder if prospective suitors for Jude Bellingham’s signature should worry. The setup at Dortmund isn’t completely unique, but it’s more structured than most clubs, and it isn’t a given that everyone will thrive outside of it. Mind you, Erling Haaland’s doing alright.”
52 min: Ocampos has the opportunity to slip Acuna into the United box down the left, but undercooks the pass, allowing Wan-Bissaka to stride across and intercept. United haven’t exactly come flying out for the second period either, and that’s allowing the visitors to slowly get into the game.
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50 min: … so having said that, Sevilla stroke the ball around patiently before pinging Navas into space down the right. Navas smashes a low cross into the mixer, but Ocampos can neither control nor deflect the ball goalwards at the near post.
49 min: No great burst from the second-half blocks by Sevilla. Strange, given their strong end to the first, the only momentum they’ve had all evening.
47 min: Bono slips when clearing and the ball drops to Casemiro, who sends Antony skittering away down the inside-right channel. Antony cuts inside and whips viciously towards the top left. Bono isn’t getting there, but the ball flies wide of the target.
46 min: A quiet start to the second period, so here’s some belated half-time analysis from Jamie O’Sullivan: “I think it would have been a harsh red card, but Lamela’s was definitely more of a red than Casemiro’s versus Southampton (where he actually got a lot on the ball before making the dreaded shin-studs contact). Yet another display of the maddening inconsistency of VAR (tying in nicely with the Barney Ronay article you shared) – yellow card and a stern final warning seems about right for a misjudged reckless challenge like that. It happens, but there’s no need for the ref to ruin the game over it. Such an odd performance from United – so clearly a better team but really ragged at times. Malacia looks a bit of a liability tonight and is spreading his jitters around.”
Sevilla get the second half underway. They’ve made a change, swapping out Oliver Torres for erstwhile Manchester City star Jesus Navas. Meanwhile Raphael Varane picked up a knock towards the end of the first half, and he’s replaced by Harry Maguire.
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Half-time reading. Let Barney Ronay entertain you.
HALF TIME: Manchester United 2-0 Sevilla
Manchester United have been intoxicating in attack. Sevilla have been poor … but showed signs of finally making a contest of this during the first-half’s last knockings. Set up nicely for an entertaining second half, one way or another!
45 min +3: The corner’s whipped to the near post. Nianzou flashes a header goalwards from six yards. De Gea makes an instinctive block that flies high into the air. With Lamela and Ocampos competing for the dropping ball, Varane heads off the line … then the whistle goes for a free kick.
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45 min +2: Ocampos powers into the United box down the right and wins a corner off Fernandes. Just enough time to take the corner.
45 min +1: Acuna, cutting in from the left, takes a shot that goes out for a throw on the right. That kind of sums up Sevilla’s first-half performance. They’ve not given David de Gea any work to do.
45 min: There will be two added minutes.
44 min: Ocampos hooks a ball back from the byline on the right, finding Montiel just inside the United box. The flag goes up, the linesman incorrectly ruling the ball had gone out for a goal kick. United, who had been pulled a little bit out of shape with Sevilla looking dangerous, breathe a sigh of relief.
43 min: Rakitic aims the resulting free kick towards the top left. It’s always heading over the bar. “I told you about Lamela!” writes pre-match worrier Duncan Edwards.
41 min: Gudelj shoots from the edge of the United D. Fernandes slides in and blocks , the ball hitting his elbow. It’s a free kick, but is it really deserving of the booking the United captain cops? There wasn’t too much distance between the players. But as it is, Fernandes misses the second leg. He’s not happy. You can picture his face.
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40 min: VAR doesn’t attribute any malicious intent to Lamela, and it remains a yellow. Lamela plays on.
39 min: Another poor challenge, this time by Lamela on Casemiro. Studs on shin. Yellow card. Casemiro felt that, and VAR will check. It may be that Lamela slipped slightly before contact was made; there didn’t seem to be any particularly malicious intent. But perhaps the VAR dude will have other ideas.
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37 min: Acuna comes sliding through the back of Antony and is fortunate not to go into the book. Antony’s unnecessarily melodramatic tumble probably earned the Sevilla left-back some sympathy from the referee.
35 min: From the corner, Casemiro heads straight at Bono. Sevilla are seriously struggling here. United look in the mood to effectively settle this tie tonight.
34 min: Martial is sent into space down the inside left by Fernandes. He cuts back for Sancho, who is within his rights to shoot but passes back to Martial instead. Martial cuts back to Casemiro this time. Casemiro shoots. His shot deflects wide right. Corner.
32 min: Antony crosses deep from the right. Martial hooks back from beyond the far post. Fernandes and Sabitzer take turns to attempt to poke home from the edge of the six-yard box. The former fails to connect properly, the latter is offside. Sevilla hearts in mouths there, though.
31 min: Sancho dribbles in from the left and tries to get a shot away. Blocked. The spirit-lifting goal he really could do with isn’t coming.
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30 min: Fernandes makes his second misstep of the match, gifting the ball to Rakitic, 30 yards from his own goal. He’s fortunate Rakitic is ponderous, and that Sevilla don’t give their team-mate any options. A chance to capitalise on a big mistake goes by.
28 min: They fling a throw into the United box from the left. Ocampo flicks it on to nobody in particular. Sevilla look a dispirited rabble right now.
26 min: The resulting free kick, basically a corner on the left, is blootered witlessly out for a goal kick by Fernandes. To be fair, with one assist already in his pocket, it’s his first misstep of the match.
25 min: Antony drives down the right and his shot-cum-cross has to be hooked out for a corner by Marcao, sliding desperately. The corner’s worked long towards Casemiro on the left flank. Casemiro senses Rakitic sliding in from behind and buys a cheap free kick. Rakitic goes into the book.
23 min: United are playing some lovely football here. A flowing move from the right-back position all the way across to Malacia, attacking on the left. Malacia wanders into trouble this time, but United are toying with Sevilla right now. Every time they go forward they look extremely dangerous.
GOAL! Manchester United 2-0 Sevilla (Sabitzer 21)
Nianzou miscontrols the ball in the midfield. Martial goes tearing off on the break. He cuts inside before sliding Sabitzer clear down that inside-left channel again. He’s miles onside, having timed his run perfectly. He enters the box before slotting a shot across Bono and into the bottom right. Two in six minutes for the Austrian!
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19 min: Ocampos wins a corner down the right. Nothing comes of it, but he looks Sevilla’s best bet in attack during these early exchanges.
18 min: Antony and Sabitzer combine down the right. The latter crosses … or is he trying to float a diagonal chip over Bono and into the top left? Hats off for ambition if it’s the latter. The effort sails wide left and high, but only by inches, though the backtracking Bono looked to have it covered.
17 min: Sevilla nearly bounce back immediately. Ocampos strips Malacia down the Sevilla right, and has Torres in the middle, waiting to slam home. But he whistles an overly aggressive cross through the six-yard box, and Torres has no chance of reacting to it in time.
GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Sevilla (Sabitzer 15)
Fernandes slips a ball down the inside-left channel. Sabitzer, bursting into the box, takes a touch and lifts a shot into the top left! Shades of the move Sancho tucked away with barely 30 seconds on the clock … but this one’s roofed, and Sabitzer is onside. United lead!
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13 min: Antony makes a nuisance of himself on the edge of the Sevilla box. He lays off to Sancho, who returns the ball to Antony, teeing up a shot that’s aimed towards the top left. Bono paws it around the post. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
11 min: After thinking about it for a while, the referee books Montiel for his gamesmanship. He’ll miss the second leg.
10 min: United half-clear the resulting corner, but then Lamela’s presence causes Martinez to clank a poor backpass out for a corner. The set piece is worked back to Montiel, who takes a crack from distance. The shot is blocked by the arm of Fernando, then Montiel grabs the ball and refuses to release it, denying United the chance of taking a quick free kick and countering.
8 min: Ocampos attempts to stride down the middle only to be unceremoniously brought down by Malacia, who hangs out a cynical leg to block. One of those challenges that might annoy the referee later on, but no yellow right now.
6 min: Marcao strides forward and lays off to Lamela, who exchanges passes with Ocampos down the right. Throw. When play restarts, the ball pings around the United box before Gudelj slips while shooting and lifts a harmless shot deep into the Stretford End.
4 min: Antony spins into space down the right, leaving Acuna for dead. He slips a pass down the channel for Martial, who wins United’s first corner of the evening. The set piece is a waste of time, but this is a fast, and impressive, start by the hosts.
2 min: That’s got the home crowd going, if nothing else. On the touchline, José Luis Mendilibar wears a furrowed brow. A stressful start for the Sevilla coach.
26 seconds: Manchester United have the ball in the net! Antony steals the ball from Gudelj, 30 yards out, and slips the ball down the inside-left channel to release Sancho, who strides into the box before slotting into the bottom left! Clinical … but clearly offside. Up goes the flag.
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Manchester United get the ball rolling. Sevilla will be kicking towards the Stretford End in this first half.
The teams are out. Manchester United wear their famous red; Sevilla turn out in first-choice white. A proper European atmosphere under the Old Trafford floodlights. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes. While we wait for the big kick-off, Duncan Edwards would like to talk through his pre-match nerves: “Oh no. With United having suffered some key injuries recently, the injury prone Martial in our line up, and also us having a couple of key players one yellow from a suspension, the LAST thing I wanted to see in the opposition are the words Erik and Lamela. Not that [curse word redacted by Family Website Editor] stirrer!”
Diego Maradona lives! Outside Old Trafford, Sevilla fans pay tribute to a famous former player …
… while Manchester United fans celebrate a beloved cultural behemoth of their own.
Erik ten Hag speaks to BT Sport and bigs up a few members of his squad. “Anthony Martial is ready … already he could have started against Everton, so with Rashford injured it is logical for him to start … I so hope for him that he stays fit and gets some games in a row … he needs that for his confidence … when he’s on the pitch he will score, he will link up, he will do a good job in the press … he is really important for us … when he’s fit he is massive for us … Bruno Fernandes can play so many roles in the team … he has so much game intelligence … Christian Eriksen is ready as well … but I want to do it really carefully … the midfield played really well against Brentford and Everton so it is not necessary to change a lot … Scott McTominay dropped out with injury, and Casemiro needs minutes, so it is logical to play this midfield … Jadon Sancho can create and give the final pass … they have to step up … we cannot always rely on Rashford … don’t forget Antony is still a young player … he has to learn and improve … but he will do … you will win with Antony, which he proved with me for the last couple of years [at Ajax] and also with Brazil.”
Manchester United have two players on the disciplinary tightrope, baby, nine miles high. Bruno Fernandes will miss the second leg in Seville should he pick up a yellow card tonight. The other player one transgression away from suspension? Casemiro. Of course he is.
Sevilla also have two players one booking away from suspension next week: Gonzalo Montiel, who slotted the winning penalty for Argentina in the World Cup final, and former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Nottingham Forest striker Rafa Mir.
Manchester United make three changes to the XI that started the 2-0 win over Everton. Casemiro, Anthony Martial and Raphael Varane take the places of Harry Maguire, who drops to the bench, and the injured duo Scott McTominay and Marcus Rashford.
Sevilla make seven changes to their starting XI from their weekend draw with Celta Vigo. Bono, Gonzalo Montiel, Ivan Rakitić, Tanguy Nianzou, Óliver Torres, Marcão and Lucas Ocampos return. Marko Dmitrović, Suso, Youssef En-Nesyri, Jesús Navas, Bryan Gil and Loïc Badé drop to the bench, while Pape Gueye misses out altogether.
The teams
Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Malacia, Casemiro, Sabitzer, Antony, Fernandes, Sancho, Martial.
Subs: Butland, Vitek, Lindelof, Maguire, Eriksen, Fred, Dalot, Weghorst, Pellistri, Elanga, Iqbal.
Sevilla: Bono, Montiel, Nianzou, Marcao, Acuna, Fernando, Gudelj, Ocampos, Rakitic, Torres, Lamela.
Subs: Dmitrovic, Flores, Telles, Rekik, Suso, Mir, En-Nesyri, Navas, Gomez, Gil, Bade.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
🚨 Presenting your Reds for tonight's first leg! 👊
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 13, 2023
⏩ @Casemiro, @AnthonyMartial and @RaphaelVarane return to the line-up.#MUFC || #UEL
Your #UEL 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐗𝐈 to face @ManUtd ⚔️
— Sevilla FC (@SevillaFC_ENG) April 13, 2023
⚪ 7️⃣ changes 🔄
🔴 Marcao is back 🙌
⚪ Fernando starts 💪 pic.twitter.com/rPBgR1q51o
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Preamble
Manchester United have won four of their last five matches; Sevilla have lost five of their last nine. United are coming off the back of a calm 2-0 win over Everton; Sevilla just coughed up a 2-0 lead against Celta Vigo by shipping two goals in the last two minutes. United are upwardly mobile at the moment, with one trophy already in the bag and a Champions League berth next season within their grasp; Sevilla, fourth in La Liga last season, are currently floundering in mid-table and looking over their shoulder at the relegation spots.
But while all the current signs point to victory tonight for Erik ten Hag’s men, recent history between the clubs suggest it might not be quite so simple. That’s because Sevilla have yet to taste defeat against United in three competitive fixtures, knocking Jose Mourinho’s side out of the 2017-18 Champions League last 16, then doing for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men in the semi-final of the Europa League in 2020. They won on their only previous visit to Old Trafford in that former tie, thanks to a late quick-fire double from Wissam Ben Yedder. Oh, and there’s the small record of their absurdly good record in this competition, which they won in 2006, 2007, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2020. United’s own recent Europa League record is impressive enough – winners in 2017, runners-up in 2021 – but Sevilla take it to another level. Kick-off at Old Trafford is at 8pm BST. It’s on!
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