Kolkata: Five-time Europa League champion Sevilla defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the semifinals on Sunday (August 16). The weaknesses of the Reds got exposed as they failed to make a comeback during the crisis.
United managed to overcome their unorganised defending, which resulted to a poor finish in the early stages of the Premier League, with a nine-minute lead from Bruno Fernandes. Although United dominated throughout the match, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s boys’ fault was concisely encapsulated by former defender Rio Ferdinand — winner of six Premier League titles and the Champions League in 2008 during the Sir Alex Ferguson era
“You don’t take ya chances you get punished. You don’t defend well you get punished. No need for insight tonight,” Ferdinand tweeted, as United made their third semifinal exit of this season after the FA Cup and League Cup.
Manchester United eliminated from European competition by Spanish opposition for the 3rd season in a row.#UEL pic.twitter.com/LuQ2epLvbx
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) August 16, 2020
Suso equalised for Sevilla on 26 minutes before a pair of safe crosses from either flank gave La Liga side the lead in the 78th minute as Luuk De Jong got time to slot home, only for the United to stare.
Centre-back Harry Maguire said, “We conceded from two crosses which is not good enough. Losing is not acceptable. Getting to semi-finals isn’t acceptable. We have to take it to the next step.”
After conceding the second, Fernandes and Lindelof had an exchange of harsh words, as they missed a number of chances at Sevilla’s end. “We played a great game and creates a lot of chances but in football it’s not enough- we missed a lot in front of goal,” acknowledged Fernandes.
