David De Gea’s exceptional display saved Manchester United’s blushes as Jose Mourinho’s men somehow escaped with a goalless draw from a match dominated by Sevilla.
Wednesday’s trip to the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan was the Red Devils’ first Champions League last-16 match since 2014, but their performance in this first leg was one to forget.
United struggled to contain Vincenzo Montella’s Sevilla throughout a one-sided contest, with De Gea required to produce a string of saves – including an incredible first-half stop to deny Luis Muriel – as proceedings somehow ended 0-0.
Here, we rate the players from both sides.
SEVILLA XI
Sergio Rico 6 – Had little to do as United struggled to fashion shots on target. A harmless McTominay effort in the first-half was his only save.
Clement Lenglet 6 – Outmatched and out-muscled on the occasions he was one v one against Lukaku and missed a good headed-opportunity.
Gabriel Mercado 7 – Panicked a little against Lukaku early on but grew into the challenge. Strong in the air and powerful in the tackle.
Jesus Navas 7 – Shut down Sanchez – with fast feet rather than those hypnotic eyes. He should have been converted to right-back earlier in his career.
Sergio Escudero 6 – Decked more times than a garden but was a driving force. A far cry from the meek figure before Montella’s arrival.
Steven N’Zonzi 8 – A perfect DM. Smart decision making, read the game well, was never out of position and recycled possession efficiently.
Ever Banega 7 – The Banega and N’Zonzi midfield pairing is such a sweet balance. Great work rate from the Argentine and created 10 chances.
Pablo Sarabia 6 – Hard to think of a better value for money signing in recent years than Sarabia for €1m but he didn’t replicate his recent great form.
Franco Vazquez 7 – Has a tendency to drop either a masterclass performance or a disaster but was more of the former with his silky touches.
Luis Muriel 6 – A monster save from a De Gea or a hideous miss from Muriel? Probably a bit of both for the man brought in for Ben Yedder.
Angel Correa 6 – Such a frustrating figure. Exploited space occupied by Valencia’s ventures forward but would overcomplicate his next move.
SUBSTITUTES
Sandro Ramirez N/A – Was brought on for Muriel in the final five minutes but wouldn’t warrant a rating anyway wearing the No99 shirt.
Guido Pizarro N/A – Introduced in the final minute for Banega as Sevilla chased a winner.
MAN UNITED XI
David De Gea 9 – Man United might not play perfect football for Pogba but they do for De Gea. Otherworldly stop to deny Muriel, one of eight saves.
Antonio Valencia 6 – Lack of communication between Valencia and Smalling was a real worry. He struggled to grip Correa as well.
Chris Smalling 4 – Watch the clip of Muriel’s header and his positional sense is laughably bad. Zero self-awareness.
Victor Lindelof 4 – The optimism from his Huddersfield performance dissipated quickly. Bullied at times and disappeared positionally.
Ashley Young 5 – Roy Keane has pointed out in the past if Young is in your back four you will struggle. United struggled.
Nemanja Matic 5 – For as influential as the Serb was at the beginning of the season, he’s equally as ineffectual now. Composed passes…to the opposition.
Ander Herrera 6 – Actually began the game really well on a rare start but was then forced off after 15 minutes through injury.
Scott McTominay 7 – The pawn in the Pogba v Mourinho chess match but a real knightly performance from the 21-year-old.
Juan Mata 6 – Mourinho still hasn’t made his mind up about United’s right-hand side and the Spaniard did little to aid his cause.
Alexis Sanchez 4 – The Chilean should have been the ignition United’s season needed but he’s backfired so far. He failed to record a single touch in the Sevilla penalty area during the first 45 minutes.
Romelu Lukaku 4 – For such a physical presence he struggles to hold the ball up. An isolated figure, he is an elite scorer, maybe not an elite striker, though.
SUBSTITUTES
Paul Pogba 6 – One shot, one key pass and one tackle indicates a dire performance but he did some wonderful things on the ball.
Marcus Rashford 7 – Looked sharp when he arrived for the final 15 minutes for Sanchez. Purposeful and positive.
Martial N/A – United went for it in the final 10 minutes but Martial didn’t have enough time to make a discernible impact.