Sevilla pulls a draw (2-2) out of the hat at Old Trafford
Two late own goals neutralized Manchester United’s lead
MADRID, 13 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Sevilla FC drew this Thursday in their visit to Manchester United (2-2) for the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals, showing an irregular image against an opponent who went ahead with a double from Marcel Sabitzer, but who in the straight In the end, he conceded two own goals that left the tie open.
In what meant the debut of José Luis Mendilibar in European competition, with an aura of rarity for being a newcomer to the Sevilla bench, the Biscayan coach made the Brazilian center-back Marcao reappear after five months injured, leave for which his team ended up paying dearly in the first half.
As soon as the game started, Jadon Sancho warned of the local threat with a goal later disallowed for offside. A bad start from behind the Sevilla team had caught goalkeeper Bono out of position and with hardly any response capacity, with the pair of central defenders out of place.
Without fear despite the initial scare, Mendilibar’s plan by pressing up was still valid for the visitors, in an Old Trafford that began to have fun as soon as Antony warmed up. A shot from him at 13′ put Bono in trouble, who made a great save in the run-up to the 1-0 score by Sabitzer.
Following some masculinity from Anthony Martial close to the touchline, Manchester United put together a good offensive play so that Sabitzer received a filtered pass inside the area and finished off into the back of the net, with the help of a timely rebound of the ball in Marcao’s leg.
With the exception of a dangerous cross from Lucas Ocampos, which Oliver Torres missed, the Seville team had shown little in the first quarter of an hour. Still knocked out by the first goal, he conceded to make it 2-0 in another bad retreat from his defense after a slip by Tanguy Nianzou while attempting a strike.
The ‘Red Devils’ produced a counterattack that caught Marcao off guard again, undecided when it came to pursuing an opponent or throwing offside. Remaining halfway, Sabitzer entered Bono’s area like an exhalation and converted his double, unappealable for the Moroccan goalkeeper.
Just before the break, already in extra time, Nianzou could have closed the gap with a header fired by David de Gea. Despite this, it seemed like a mirage that Sevilla would get their hands on an unrivaled man who did not miss Marcus Rashford, their great reference this season up front.
EN-NESYRI’S HEADBEAT, WITH A REBOUND, FOR THE DRAW
Having first left FC Barcelona on the road, in the round of 32, and later Real Betis, in the round of 16, Erik ten Hag’s pupils were sinking their teeth into the great ‘king’ of this Europa League. It was Mendilibar’s turn to move from his bench and Jesús Navas was entrusted to the right wing and Youssef En-Nesyri to the point of attack.
Meanwhile, Antony warned that United United was not going to relax by sending a left-footed shot to the crosshead, based on a nice personal move from the top of the area. He even repeated it moments later, showing off with several ‘bikes’ in his dribble over Marcao.
At that moment, the Sevilla team only has the heroic left and they found it with a cross from the left to the far post, which Tyrell Malacia ‘ate’ in the boat and which Navas took advantage of to speed up the baseline and shoot from close range . His shot bounced off Malacia’s torso and the ball ended up in his own goal, misleading De Gea.
With Sevilla overturned, and the ‘Red Devils’ with 10 men due to Lisandro Martínez’s injury, the luck of the six-time champion appeared. Already in the discount, Ocampos pumped a cross from the peak of the area, rising En-Nesyri to head the ball; it hit Harry Maguire’s head and the ball’s trajectory also passed De Gea. It was 2-2, with a miracle included, to finally equalize in the ‘Theater of Dreams’.
DATASHEET.
–RESULT: MANCHESTER UNITED, 2 – SEVILLA, 2 (2-0, at halftime).
–LINEUPS:
MANCHESTER UNITED: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane (Maguire, min.46), Lysander, Malaysia; Casemiro, Sabitzer; Bruno Fernandes (Eriksen, 62 mins), Sancho (Elanga, 62 mins), Antony (Pellistri, 81 mins); Martial (Weghorst, min.62).
SEVILLE: Bond; Montiel (Papu Gómez, min.90), Nianzou (Suso, min.73), Marcao, Acuña; Fernando, Gudelj; Rakitic, Óliver Torres (Navas, min.46), Ocampos, and Lamela (En-Nesyri, min.67).
–GOALS:
1-0, min.14: Sabitzer.
2-0, min.21: Sabitzer.
2-1, min. 84: Malacia (pp).
2-2, min.90+4: Maguire (pp).
–REFEREE: Felix Zwayer (ALE). He yellow carded Bruno Fernandes (min.41), Antony (min.65) and Pellistri (min.89) at Manchester United; and Montiel (min.11), Rakitic (min.25), Lamela (min.39), Gudelj (min.58) and Acuña (min.72) in Sevilla.
–ESTADIO: Old Trafford.