Man Utd 2-2 Sevilla (Sabitzer 14′, 21′ | Malacia 84′ og, Maguire 90+2′ og)
OLD TRAFFORD — If we can judge the best teams by their ability to flourish when on top and offer resilience in times of strife, Manchester United are a world away from their intended destiny.
On a night when they dominated from start to almost finish, they will head to Seville as a toss-up to qualify thanks to an unthinkable, lamentable collapse in the final throes.
It all seemed so different, back in the first half when we thought that Wout Weghorst as United’s non-goalscoring advanced central midfielder was simply a long-game trick by Erik ten Hag. Enter Marcel Sabitzer, stage left, Ten Hag’s new run-maker, line-breaker and chance-taker. He gave United a lead that seemed unassailable.
For those used to Sevilla as the apex predators within this habitat, this will have come as an unpleasant shock. They have won eight games in La Liga this season and the decision to sell their best two central defenders – Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde – in the same summer has backfired badly. Julen Lopetegui, Jorge Sampaoli and José Luis Mendilibar have all had a go at managing them away from comparative crisis.
Mendilibar was under no illusions of the priorities. Sevilla face Valencia this weekend in La Liga’s let-us-not-be-the-big-name-team-that-goes-down derby. Thus they made seven changes to the starting XI and the second-highest scorer in the team was a left-back with three league goals this season.
Sevilla arrived with a back four, two defensive midfielders and no recognised striker and yet still managed to be flimsier than a tissue paper bird bath. They left unfathomable space in front of their back four in which Bruno Fernandes delighted and Sabitzer ignited.
Unlikely salvation was created not by skill or endeavour, but incompetence. An umpteenth aimless cross was aimed towards the back post where Tyrell Malacia stood, stood and stood some more. Don’t let the ball bounce, they tell you in every football culture. It was a brainless action that may well be costly. Sevilla will not be this bad again.
And if Manchester United are this careless, they deserve nothing more than pain in Spain. Sevilla’s first goal seemed to cause mass panic like we have rarely seen this season. Suddenly midfielders were shanking passes and defenders hoisting clearances forward.
It did not help that United lost both Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez to injuries, but that is no excuse. Trophies are earned by keeping your heads through adversity, not submitting to it.
With his team only six points ahead of last season’s points total after 29 Premier League games, Ten Hag has used the cup competitions to stir up the belief that something is building. Here there was room for obvious progress; last season United’s three cup runs ended in round three, round four and the last 16.
It is not just the results. If Ten Hag has a specialism, it is identifying which players within his squad are capable of multifunctionality. Sabitzer is a prime example. At Bayern Munich, he was used (sparingly) as a regulation central midfielder or in a holding role. Ten Hag believes that he can do something different, starting in an advanced position and overlapping to fill the void if the central striker drifts out wide or deep.
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 13, 2023
Raphael Varane goes off injured
An evening to forget for Man Utd#UEL pic.twitter.com/yKKzlqaA6v
It isn’t just him. Marcus Rashford is spending more time central as well as wide. Bruno Fernandes has operated in a deeper-lying role that allows him to have more of the ball and play ranging passes out to the wings.
Luke Shaw seemed to thrive when playing in central defence and it seems to have made him a better left-back. This is crucial when in charge of a squad that is still weak in certain areas because it artificially creates competition for places where none might ordinarily exist.
Which only makes the late collapse more frustrating. United are still slight favourites, but sport has a funny way of punishing complacency, profligacy or leniency.
The best teams twist the knife; the best teams are ruthless. As the full-time whistle blew, one small pocket of Old Trafford roared and chanted and celebrated their astonishingly rapid redemption. Everyone else groaned. They thought they had seen the end of this specific brand of foolishness.
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