All definitely did not end well with Manchester United after they draw their match with Sevilla, all thanks to Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire scoring two own goals against their own team.
Man. United started the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal against Sevilla well with a two-goal lead from Marcel Sabitzer within the first 20 minutes.
However, late own goals within the last 6 minutes of the match soiled the great stride, putting the team in a tight space in their next match.
United’s match also ended with injuries to defenders Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez, with the Argentinian stretched off in the second half with an apparent foot injury.
Man United was in control for quite some time before Sevilla scored twice in the final six minutes to put United on the back foot ahead of the second leg in Spain next week.
Sevilla is only five points clear of the relegation places in La Liga and, for most of the night, Man United imposed themselves with the dominant performance most expected. Sabitzer scored twice during the opening 20 minutes, but the third goal to kill off the draw never came.
Sevilla on their part, were able to battle back — almost out of nothing — thanks to two own goals, first from Malacia and then Maguire. If that wasn’t bad enough, Ten Hag was also forced to substitute Varane at half-time and watched his center-back partner Martinez stretchered off after sustaining a foot injury.
And that is not all the bad news as Bruno Fernandes won’t be available for the return leg in Spain after picking up a booking that will rule him out through suspension.
“There were some unlucky moments, injuries,” Ten Hag said after the game, per United, “so we had to make some subs and then lose control in the unlucky moment [Sevilla’s first goal].
“Another unlucky moment with Licha Martínez. We have 10 [men] and we conceded two own goals. It was bad luck and we have to deal with that.
“Of course, we have to learn, we have to kill the game, but still everything is open for the next game.”
Speaking on the team’s performance, Sevilla’s new head coach José Luis Mendilibar said:
“We spoke about it at halftime – 2-0 [down] but with one goal, we put ourselves in the tie and we showed strength not to give up and take advantage of our opportunities.”
“In this competition, Sevilla’s soul is very difficult for other teams to have. Even United with the score 2-0, when we made it 2-1, they started to get scared of us.”
“It is the history of Sevilla in this competition, which makes it even bigger.”
