Two goals up and seemingly cruising toward the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday, Manchester United are now counting the cost of a late meltdown against Sevilla.
Own-goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire in the 84th and 92nd minutes left the quarter-final in the balance at 2-2 ahead of next week’s second leg in Spain.
Meanwhile, injuries to centerbacks Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez added to a bad night for Erik ten Hag.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The United manager is already without injured leading scorer Marcus Rashford at a critical point of the season. Bruno Fernandes is also suspended for the second leg after picking up his third yellow card of the competition.
“We had the game in our hands, we were 2-0 up and should have scored three or four, then we had some unlucky moments with injuries,” Ten Hag said. “I know we can do better in the last part of the game, we have to be more composed. We were a little bit unlucky defensively. It wasn’t a nice night.”
It was Sevilla’s visiting supporters who could be heard singing loudest at the final whistle, with Old Trafford stunned by the Spanish team’s fightback.
United can expect a hot reception at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan next week after giving the Spaniards a lifeline at a time when they looked to be headed out of a competition they have dominated in recent times.
“It’s as we said at halftime — with one goal we get back in the tie, and we were strong enough to keep going and to take our chances,” Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar said.
There is a reason why Sevilla have won the trophy six times between 2006 and 2020, and that is because they find a way through difficult moments, and while they are 13th in La Liga, they refused to give up, despite being outplayed for the majority of the match.
Marcel Sabitzer scored in the 14th and 21st minutes to give United a 2-0 halftime lead.
Antony hit the bar after the break, before Sevilla made Ten Hag’s team pay for failing to kill the game off, with Malacia turning Jesus Navas’ cross into his own net to spark the late comeback.
David de Gea pulled off a flying save to deny substitute Youssef En-Nesyri in stoppage-time, but Sevilla were soon celebrating when Maguire inadvertently diverted En-Nesyri’s header past his own goalkeeper almost immediately afterward.
While Ten Hag must now lift his players after relinquishing control of the quarter-final, he might also have to plan ahead without key defenders.
Varane was substituted at halftime because of an injury and Martinez looked in distress as he was carried off the pitch by Sevilla players Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel, his Argentina teammates, late on.
Ten Hag could not give details of severity of Martinez’s injury, but the player’s reaction — crouched over and covering his face with his hands on the sideline — appeared to show his own concern.
“I think he will not play on Sunday,” Ten Hag said. “It looks like that, but I can’t say what is the diagnosis and I prefer to wait, and then we are clear and know exactly what is it.”
United play Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League tomorrow before the second leg against Sevilla on Thursday next week and the FA Cup semi-final against Brighton & Hove Albion the following weekend.
“I have an idea what we can play on Sunday, but first we have to see tomorrow and talk with medical [staff], see who came out of the game, and then we have a plan and then we will bring a good team on [the] pitch,” Ten Hag said.
Elsewhere, Matts Wieffer’s second-half volley helped Feyenoord beat AS Roma 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg.
Oussama Idrissi set up the goal in the 54th minute by breaking down the left before providing a precise cross for Wieffer in a victory that was a sweet revenge for the hosts.
The game was a rematch of last year’s final in the the inaugural edition of the third-tier Europa Conference League, which Roma won 1-0 for coach Jose Mourinho’s fifth European title.
Roma forwards Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham both left the game because of injuries.
Juventus had to rely on a late goal from defender Federico Gatti, who scored from close range in the 73rd minute to secure three points and a 1-0 victory over Sporting.
The goal came against the run of play as the Portuguese team looked ready to again upset the favorites after they eliminated English Premier League leaders Arsenal in the previous round.
Florian Wirtz scored seven minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Bayer 04 Leverkusen against Union Saint-Gilloise.
Earlier in the second half, forward Victor Boniface scored his seventh goal of the campaign to put the Belgian team ahead.
FRUSTRATION: Alcaraz made several unforced errors over four sets against Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, who had never made it past the third round in a major competition Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the fourth round of the French Open after laboring past Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the Friday night session. The second-seeded Spaniard had never before played Dzumhur, a 33-year-old Bosnian who had never been past the third round at any major tournament. “I suffered quite a lot today,” Alcaraz said. “The first two sets was under control, then he started to play more deeply and more aggressively. It was really difficult for me.” Dzumhur hurt his left knee in a fall in the second round, and had treatment on Friday on his right leg during the
‘DREAM’: The 5-0 victory was PSG’s first Champions League title, and the biggest final win by any team in the 70-year history of the top-flight European competition Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League for the first time as Luis Enrique’s brilliant young side outclassed Inter on Saturday in the most one-sided final ever with teenager Desire Doue scoring twice in an astonishing 5-0 victory. Doue supplied the pass for Achraf Hakimi to give PSG an early lead and the 19-year-old went from provider to finisher as his deflected shot doubled the advantage in the 20th minute. Doue scored again just after the hour mark, ending any doubt about the outcome before Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ran away to get the fourth and substitute Senny Mayulu, another teenager, made it five. Inter were
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
The Edmonton Oilers on Thursday defeated the Dallas Stars 6-3 to book their place in the Stanley Cup Finals, setting up a repeat of last year’s NHL showpiece against reigning champions the Florida Panthers. The Oilers, bidding to become the first Canadian team to win the NHL’s championship series since the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, head to Florida for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series set for Wednesday. Florida, who are to play in the NHL showpiece for the third straight season, won last year’s title 4-3 to extend Canada’s decades-long Stanley Cup drought. Connor McDavid led Edmonton back to the championship series on
RSS