The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Man United stunned by Sevilla in last-16 of Champions League
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Mourinho’s men stunned at Old Trafford by substitute
MANCHESTER UNITED 1 SEVILLA 2 (AGGREGATE 1-2)
Manchester United’s Champions League dreams are over after being rocked by Sevilla, with substitute Wissam Ben Yedder’s brace securing a famous win against Jose Mourinho’s lacklustre side.
Last month David De Gea saved the Red Devils’ blushes as they escaped Andalusia with a goalless draw, but Vincenzo Montella’s men did not allow another undercooked display to go unpunished.
An abject United performance got the outcome it deserved as Sevilla kicked on after a solid first-half display, with Ben Yedder coming off the bench to secure a 2-1 win and render Romelu Lukaku’s late goal pointless as the Spaniards progressed from the last-16 at the fourth time of asking.
The celebrations on the pitch were as wild as they were in the away end at fulltime, while United were jeered off the field as the biggest week of their season was thrown off kilter.
Mourinho’s side showed none of the intensity displayed in the weekend win against rivals Liverpool, with Marouane Fellaini mustering the only noteworthy shot in a first half that the visitors edged.
Worse still, there was little response from the hosts in the second period.
Ben Yedder came off the bench to add another attacking dimension in the 72nd minute and within six minutes had ended the tie, following a fine low strike with an effort that De Gea could not prevent from crossing the line.
Lukaku reduced the deficit with six minutes remaining, but Sevilla had done enough to progress and leave United’s hopes of silverware resting on the FA Cup ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against Brighton.
Old Trafford was half empty by the full-time whistle came, with those remaining booing a performance that started badly and only got worse.
United boss Jose Mourinho refused to question the attitude of his side after they were knocked out.
“The first goal will be always important in this match not just because of the first leg result but also because of the style of the match,” Mourinho told BT Sport 2.
“We tried since the first minute to be aggressive and intense and I could find some similarities between the beginning of this game and against Liverpool last weekend, but then we didn’t score and Sevilla progressively kept the ball and were quite confident having the ball and hiding the ball from us and controlling the game well.
“We had good periods. I wouldn’t say we had great control of the game but I couldn’t say my players had something wrong in terms of their attitude and their intention to play.”
Edin Dzeko’s strike ensured Roma reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2008 with an away goals victory over Shakhtar Donetsk.
The former Manchester City forward latched on to Kevin Strootman’s through ball before poking the ball between Andriy Pyatov’s legs for the only goal.