Europa League semi-final previews: Sevilla v Man Utd and Inter v Shakhtar
Manchester United booked their place in the semi-finals the hard way and the task will only become more difficult from here. Their surprising failure to beat FC Copenhagen inside 90 minutes in the quarter-final on Monday night was perhaps down to them underestimating the Danes, but they cannot afford to be complacent against Sevilla. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side must improve, and fast.
Sevilla’s record in the Europa League is common knowledge – on every occasion that they have got as far as the quarter-finals, they have won the competition. United know all about their threat having been knocked out of the Champions League by them two years ago.
José Mourinho got his tactics wrong in that last-16 tie and it ended badly. After a goalless draw in Spain, the
United manager tried to nullify the influence of Sevilla’s key playmaker Éver Banega in the second leg. He left Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial on the bench and opted for a midfield of Nemanja Matic, Marouane Fellaini and Jesse Lingard. His cautious approach did not pay off, with Sevilla winning 2-1 at Old Trafford and Banega creating a whopping 17 chances over the two legs.
Keeping the Argentinian quiet will be key once again but United’s best form of defence recently has been their attack, particularly in transition. The speed of their front three on the counter can hurt anyone and Sevilla are a team that focuses on possession. They had 75% of the ball against Wolves in the quarter-final and have averaged 66.3% possession in the competition this season – the highest of any club. Banega is integral to how they play. On Tuesday night, he completed more than twice as many passes (103) as Wolves’ three midfielders combined (40).