Indeed it was a night of contrasting fortunes; wasted chances, converting chances, the joy of victory and agony of defeat as Julen Lopetegui’ Sevilla walk into their sixth Europa final after coming from behind to seal a 2-1 victory over Manchester United
Bruno Fernades gave the Red Devils the lead early in the game via the penalty spot but Suso grabbed the equalizer just before the half-hour mark to restore parity in the game.
United was punished for not taking their handful of chances as De Jong, late in the game, scored the winner – his first goal in 12 matches.
Here five key points from the game;
- Manchester United lost the game for two basic reasons; woeful defending especially from Victor Linderlof in Sevilla’s second goal and wasted opportunities. The Red Devils had 7 shots on target but failed to score any.
- The Red Devils need extra quality players to compete at the highest level next season. The team look lost in the closing stages of the game, an injection of two or three quality players with fresh ideas might have changed the game for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s side.
- It doesn’t matter who the manager, as far as Sevilla are concerned, they will get to the final of the Europa League.
- Sevilla will be playing in their sixth Europa League finals with 2 appearances more than any side in the history of the competition.
- This is the time Julen Lopetegui will be coaching a side in a major European final.
- Ole Gunnar Solksjaer have now lost three semi-finals in a single season after losing to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup and Chelsea in the FA Cup.
