And so to Old Trafford. Applause rang round the Sánchez Pizjuán. Sevilla had not been able to defeat Manchester United but their supporters recognised they had been close and there is still hope they can reach the quarter-final of this competition for the first time in their history. United, too, may consider this a decent result. Often overrun, two superb saves from David de Gea kept them in a game where goals were absent. A game where to start with Paul Pogba had been absent, too – and that is likely to occupy the next few days almost as much as this performance will.The game was only 16 minutes in when Ander Herrera pulled up and had to depart; Pogba came on to replace him. Sevilla had started on the front foot and the change did not significantly alter that, although Alexis Sánchez’s lovely ball did find Romelu Lukaku, who volleyed over from close range soon after and Scott McTominay struck Sergio Rico’s palms from 20 yards. Largely, United looked long towards Lukaku and while there were few glimpses of goal the sense of danger was never entirely extinguished. Continue readingreadfullarticle
