Looking to keep up his side’s incredible record of winning this competition every time they’ve reached the quarter-finals, new Sevilla manager José Luis Mendilibar made seven changes to the side that drew with Celta Vigo over the weekend and his new-look side struggled to gel from the off.
The visitors were lucky not to be behind in the first minute when Jadon Sancho neatly put the ball in the back of the net, only for the goal to be quickly ruled out for offside.
The hosts were unbeaten in their last 24 matches at Old Trafford and it was easy to see why in the first 20 minutes as they carved the visitors open at will. The player who benefited most from his side's impressive opening performance was Sabitzer who notched a brace during this period courtesy of two dazzling assists.
Firstly, Bruno Fernandes took out four players with one pass to put Sabitzer through on goal and finish via a deflection, before Anthony Martial supplied a defence-splitting ball to put the Austrian in once more to coolly fire beyond Yassine Bounou and put the Red Devils two ahead in the early stages.
Sevilla nearly got back into the game with the final action of the first half when Tanguy Nianzou’s header was saved at point-blank range by David de Gea, before Raphaël Varane brilliantly cleared off the line to preserve the hosts’ two-goal lead at the break.
Antony almost put the game out of sight for the Red Devils early in the second half when he danced past two defenders before releasing a beautifully curled effort that crashed back off the post.
The visitors gave themselves a lifeline in the tie right at the end of the game when Tyrell Malacia went to sleep at the back post, allowing Jesús Navas to sneak behind him and turn the ball in with the help of deflections from Malacia and De Gea to halve the hosts’ deficit against the run of play.
What was looking a straightforward night for Erik ten Hag got even worse in the closing stages when Lisandro Martínez was stretchered off, before the Old Trafford crowd was stunned by a stunning Sevilla equaliser.
Top scorer Youssef En-Nesyri's header was drifting well wide of the target, but it took a wicked deflection off United captain Harry Maguire and past De Gea to give the Spaniards the upper hand ahead of the second leg, which will see Red Devils playmaker Bruno Fernandes suspended.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Marcel Sabitzer (Manchester United)
