Man Utd whimper out of Europa League in defeat to Sevilla
Having relinquished control of the first leg with two own goals in the final 10 minutes, United knew a positive response was needed in the early stages at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.
However, any hopes of a solid start were undone within eight minutes, as a calamitous error from Harry Maguire was pounced upon by Erik Lamela, with Youssef En-Nesyri picking up the loose ball and finishing confidently beyond David de Gea to put the hosts ahead.
Backed by the fervent home support, Sevilla continued to stamp their authority on proceedings during an entertaining opening half-hour, although clear-cut chances came at a premium for both sides.
With HT looming, the hosts had the ball in the net for a second time after a sublime strike from Lucas Ocampos, however much to United’s relief, VAR intervened and disallowed the goal for a marginal offside, keeping the deficit to just a single goal going into the interval.
Intent on building upon their first-half dominance, Sevilla emerged after the restart with a renewed focus, and duly doubled their lead within two minutes, as Loïc Badé rose highest to meet Ivan Rakitić’s corner, looping a header over de Gea.
Faced with a two-goal deficit, the visitors - unbeaten in their last 10 European matches - desperately searched for a route back into the contest, however Yassine Bounou stood firm to deny Casemiro, while Wout Weghorst saw a dangerous effort blocked by the brilliant Nemanja Gudelj.
With time ticking into the final 15 minutes, United continued to toil in the final third, with even the return of Marcus Rashford failing to ignite any kind of spark in the Red Devils’ frontline.
This enabled Sevilla to coast through the closing exchanges, with En-Nesyri adding his second of the evening after an inexplicable de Gea mistake, sending the rampant hosts into a first UEL semi-final since 2019/20.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Nemanja Gudelj (Sevilla)
