Degea delivers as Manchester United scrapes a draw

Two superb saves from headers, the second breathtaking, at the end of the first half denied Sevilla who had countless other opportunities against an at times over-run United side who nevertheless go into the second leg of this last-16 encounter on March 13 as favourites to progress into the quarter-finals.

The visitors looked pedestrian, conservative, restrained; a team lacking in verve. It was a far cry, for example, from the way Liverpool destroyed Porto away last week. And surely United cannot keep  relying on De Gea?
On his return from illness Pogba was dropped, and that obviously caused quite a stir, but he had to be called on after just 18 minutes when Ander Herrera pulled up injured as he attempted a back-heel – much to Mourinho’s frustration.
Sanchez was far from his best on his return to Champions League football following his January move from Arsenal and was withdrawn before the end. And neither was Pogba much better. This was hugely disappointing.

United’s alleged control was  arguable for De Gea made eight saves in all from 25 attempts at goal by Sevilla – the most for a United goalkeeper in a Champions League game since Edwin van der Sar  versus Barcelona in May 2011.
Mourinho is a master of the knockout competitions, or at least going deep into them, and will  argue this kind of occasion is about managing the two matches. And not just the one. Get through this tie and his approach worked.

But United were flat. They were underwhelming. Except for De Gea who was elevated to such an imposing status that it seemed to get into the heads of the Sevilla players who, after his two saves just before half-time, continued to play well, attack well but snatched at chances. The closer to De Gea they got, in fact, the less sure they became. They did not look like they believed they could beat him. He got bigger, the goal got smaller.
The first save was smart enough as De Gea flicked a powerful header from Steven Nzonzi over the bar, after the midfielder had reached an acrobatic overhead kick back across the penalty area by the lively striker, Luis Muriel. And then De Gea made that incredible save from Muriel – soon after mix-up between the goalkeeper and defender Victor Lindelof – as the forward was picked out unmarked by Jesus Navas with a cross from the right.

As Muriel reached the ball he seemed certain to plant his header, from no more than six yards, into the net but De Gea shot out an arm to block. It needed a double-take to believe what had happened. Muriel pressed his head against the post in disbelief for several seconds. When the half-time whistle blew soon  after both Muriel and his team-mate Gabriel Mercado even took time to shake De Gea’s hand before he walked down the tunnel.
There were more saves, relatively routine ones, from De Gea who turned away a skidding shot from Muriel, in the first half, and from Joaquin Correa after he jinked in from the right, and from Correa again as he attempted to bend the ball into the corner. But after his amazing save from Muriel it seemed Sevilla believed they had to find the precise finish and

Clement Lenglet, Franco Vazquez and Muriel, again, were wasteful as they attempted that. It was summed up when Muriel crossed towards the far post and Correa appeared to have the chance to head home but was clearly mindful of De Gea scampering across and tried for too much power. Again it sailed over the bar.

And what about Romelu Lukaku, United’s other big name? The striker was picked out by Sanchez with a clever lofted ball through, but despite having time and space he skied his volley high over the target. Then in the second half he controlled the ball with an arm  before firing it into the net. It was rightly ruled out. And that was it. He did little else.


Jose Mourinho loves McTominay,after the match he had this to say
"OK. Decision at Old Trafford, it's a match in our house, I believe that Old Trafford misses a big European night. Of course we had last season but Europa League has a different meaning, and they can create similar atmosphere we had today and push us through a difficult match.

"Can I hug you? [hugs a reporter] That's a question. I was in a press conference before and the questions were about Paul and I think the question should be about the kid. He was fantastic, did everything well, put lots of pressure on Banega which was important, always comfortable, simple in possession. He was brilliant. In my opinion the midfield started well and when Herrera came out, Paul worked hard."

Paul Scholes had a varying idea
"Bad game of football, a difficult watch to be honest. Job done for United, I think they'll be comfortable at Old Trafford."
In all sincerity, we hope the Portuguese manager can pull his team together in the next leg of his tie