Manchester United vs Sevilla. UEFA Europa League Quarter Final.
Old TraffordAttendance72,825.
Match report as Man Utd relinquish control of Europa League quarter-final in disastrous late collapse; Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia own goals erase advantage Marcel Sabizter's early double had secured; Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane injuries cast doubt over semi-final progress
Friday 14 April 2023 08:19, UK
Manchester United blew a two-goal lead as late own goals from Harry Maguire and Tyrell Malacia handed Sevilla an unlikely lifeline and a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Old Trafford.
United appeared to be striding towards the semi-finals after Marcel Sabitzer's first-half double but a failure to underscore their dominance was ruthless punished in a remarkable finale.
Malacia's 84th-minute own goal handed Sevilla a route back into the tie and there was more for the LaLiga side, with Youssef En-Nesyri forcing Maguire to put through his own net in the second minute of stoppage time.
Already without topscorer Marcus Rashford, the draw, which will have felt like a defeat, could have come at an even greater cost, with centre-back Raphael Varane forced off injured at half-time and Lisandro Martinez carried from the field on a stretcher in the second half.
It means United's Europa League aspirations hinge on producing a positive result in next Thursday's return at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan without their leading scorer and, potentially, their first-choice centre-back partnership.
It was initially a case of no Rashford, no problem for Manchester United as they set about securing a first-leg advantage to take to Seville with an imperious attacking start which Jadon Sancho thought he had crowned with the opener inside 30 seconds, only for it to be ruled out for offside.
United's wait for the opener would only last 14 minutes, though, with Fernandes' incisive forward pass finding Sabitzer, who finished clinically past goalkeeper Yassine Bounou after being kept onside by Marcos Acuna.
The lead was doubled seven minutes later, with Sabitzer timing another run in behind and producing another composed finish after the returning Martial's brilliant takedown and defence-splitting pass.
Common sense prevailed on 38 minutes when former Tottenham forward Erik Lamela escaped a red card following a VAR review after a challenge on Casemiro, but the same could not be said moments later when Fernandes was harshly penalised for handball while blocking Nemanja Gudelj's shot, picking up a booking which rules him out of the second leg.
United allowed the game to drift as the half drew to a close and were indebted to goalkeeper David de Gea, who brilliantly stopped Tanguy Nianzou's bullet near-post header, and then defender Varane, who reacted superbly to head the rebound off the goal line before Sevilla could pounce.
It proved to be Varane's final act with club-captain Harry Maguire replacing the injured Frenchman during the interval, though it be little to disrupt the flow of the game, with United coming within inches of adding a third when Antony's curled effort cannoned off the inside of the Sevilla post.
Christian Eriksen, Wout Weghorst and Anthony Elanga were introduced as United fruitlessly pushed for a third that would have killed the tie off and that failure came back to haunt them when Jesus Navas capitalised on Malacia's hesitancy to turn the ball into the United net off the Dutchman.
It galvanised the previously frustrated Spaniards, who completed their remarkable comeback in stoppage time when En-Nesyri's effort deflected off Maguire and past De Gea. The sight of Martinez being carried down the tunnel only compounded the disastrous ending for United, who were fortunate to avoid defeat and now have a mountain to climb to progress.
Man Utd manager Erik ten Hag: "We had the game in our hands. We were 2-0 up and we should've scored a third and a fourth. The game was totally on us, and we had some unlucky moments with injuries.
"We had to make some subs with injuries, like Rafa [Raphael Varane] at half time, then we lose control in an unlucky moment and we switched off. Then we had another unlucky moment with Lisandro Martinez and we're down to 10 and then we conceded a second own goal. It's bad luck and we have to deal with it."
Sevilla head coach Jose Luis Mendilibar: "The first 30 mins were poor for us, great for them, they caused up problems. At half-time we said if we score one goal we would be back in the tie. We didn't let our heads drop and, bit by bit, we didn't suffer as much as we did in the first half.
"We managed to equalise, Martinez got injured, and in the end, we had chances to turn the game around and leave as winners. But the result is great, we can celebrate tonight."
Marcel Sabitzer has scored more goals in his 13 games for Man Utd in all competitions (3) than in 54 appearances for FC Bayern München (2). The Austrian scored his first brace since March 2020 for RB Leipzig against Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester United travel to Nottingham Forest on Super Sunday at 4.30pm - live on Sky Sports Premier League - and Sevilla visit Valencia in LaLiga on Sunday at 8pm, before next Thursday's Europa League quarter-final second leg at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan at 8pm.
