The Red Devils went into Spain with a 2-0 lead but are now equal and suffering from major injury issues.
The first leg of the Europa League quarterfinal between Manchester United and Sevilla ended in a 2-2 tie at Old Trafford on Thursday, despite the Red Devils holding a two-goal advantage for 83 minutes of the game. With all the momentum in favor of Sevilla, the Red Devils will now need to travel to their home field for the second leg. The Red Devils appeared to have everything under control as Marcel Sabitzer scored twice in the first 21 minutes of the game, but Erik ten Hag witnessed everything fall apart. Given that Sevilla has won four of the last ten Europa League championships, this is very worrying.
Early on, Sevilla displayed their offensive threat, but it took Tyrell Malacia going out for Jesus Navas to force an own goal against a team he is extremely familiar with. A former Manchester City player will always enjoy himself when he causes trouble at Old Trafford, especially if it changes the course of the game. United would down to ten when, with four minutes left, Lisandro Martinez needed assistance leaving the field after getting his boot entangled in the turf. The hosts didn’t have any further substitutes available.
Sevilla’s second crucial shot took a vicious deflection off of Harry Maguire’s forehead and past a helpless David De Gea as a result of United being reduced to ten men. Concerns about the team are now growing. Even if they were the superior team for 85 minutes while missing Marcus Rashford and Luke Shaw, another serious injury to a key player might be too much for the team to handle. Both clubs will also be without a player in the second leg since Bruno Fernandes and Gonzalo Montiel were suspended due to accumulating too many yellow cards.
For the majority of the season, when United takes an early lead in a game, they maintain the advantage, but at this point, concerns about depth outside of the first squad start to surface. Ten Hag has a team of players he can rely on, but when they aren’t around, more questions must be answered.
