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MANCHESTER. — It was a quarter-final to forget for Manchester United — but a second leg in Seville which is likely to stick in Erik ten Hag’s mind when building his squad for next season. In the first leg at Old Trafford, United were 2-0 up and cruising only for a pair of late own goals to leave the tie in the balance.
The worst was yet to come. Amid a thunderous atmosphere at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla ran out comfortable 3-0 winners – 5-2 on aggregate – with two of their goals directly down to United errors.
Ten Hag’s side only have themselves to blame. No wonder the United manager was furious in his post-match interviews.
“This was a great opportunity, a great occasion, to win something and we gave it away – we have to blame ourselves,” he told BT Sport.
“It’s gone, we can’t change it. We have to look forward to Sunday, that’s the next opportunity.
“It’s unacceptable. We lost the battles, they had more passion, more desire, more willingness, that’s difficult to win games.
“Everyone can see the demands and standard has to be higher in a club like Manchester United.”
United face Brighton at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday before visiting Tottenham in a key game in the Premier League top-four race four days later.
They have won a trophy this season, but if they repeat their performance in Seville in these games, their season could be in tatters.
Of course, the opposite could be true – with so much to play for, there is the immediate opportunity for United’s players to put this debacle behind them. However, this felt like a tipping point for many of the squad.
With Bruno Fernandes suspended, they created almost nothing. Marcus Rashford, their top scorer this season, was thrown on half-fit at half-time as he continues to recover from a groin injury — demonstrating their lack of cutting edge.
In midfield, Casemiro was well below his best and picked up a yellow card which would have ruled him out of the semi-final first leg — not that United ever looked like making it that far. Harry Maguire endured another torrid evening in the centre of defence, giving the ball away for the opener, while alongside him Victor Lindelof was not much better.
Without the injured Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, United are simply not good enough in defence – and must surely reinforce in the summer.
“I think tonight has made Ten Hag’s mind up on a few of these players,” former United midfielder Paul Scholes told BT Sport. “That is probably the only good thing that will come out of this.
“This shows the squad isn’t good enough, if you have injuries. This squad can handle other games but when it comes to the crunch, the big atmosphere, it falls short. The quality drops a level when the big players aren’t fit.”
Based on league tables, this was a shock defeat as Sevilla sit 13th in La Liga having endured a nightmare campaign near the relegation zone.
However, they are now unbeaten in five under Jose Luis Mendilibar – their third permanent manager of the season – and rose to the occasion here, as they always do in this competition.
“These players have won six Europa Leagues,” former United midfielder Owen Hargreaves told BT Sport of Sevilla. “They [United] haven’t been ready, they have been second best at every stage. — BBC Sport.
Online Reporter