It is fair to say Manchester United endured a mixed night at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Erik ten Hag's side long appeared in cruise control after a rampant first half, with a brace from Marcel Sabitzer following two very well-engineered moves reward for running their opposition ragged.
However, the second half saw things descend downhill, reaching a crescendo in the closing stages. A pair of own goals and injuries to both centre-backs meant the affair will go down as a rollercoaster of a European night.
After big positives initially, it transpired to be a night that left a sour taste for United.
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In this piece, utdspace unpicks the events from a chaotic affair...
First half domination through proactivity
United's start to proceedings was lightning-fast. After only 30 seconds, Jadon Sancho had the ball in the net through a composed finish after being sent in behind by Antony, who skipped past an opponent before feeding the ball to Sancho. Unfortunately for the hosts, Sancho marginally mistimed his run. But it set a precedent for what was to come.
Sevilla have struggled in the league this season, regressing from fourth-place last season to sitting only a matter of points above the relegation zone. And ahead of an important match against struggling Valencia this weekend, Jose Luis Mendilibar made several changes. As a result, there were plenty of spaces for United to work within in the final third.
It was a front-footed start from United, who were relentless in their pressure of the Sevilla defence, keen to exploit the spaces left in attacking areas. Antony was central to much of this, showing the improvements he is continuing to make with displays of quick feet as well as carries and passes into forward areas. A second half strike of the crossbar exemplified how close he is to everything really starting to click.
United rather suffocated their opponents en-route to Sabitzer scoring twice before half-time, coming from the spaces left vacated being exploited, with Sevilla clearly the inferior side amid limited headway forced by United's proactive approach - highly limiting for the Spanish outfit.
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Marcel Sabitzer and Anthony Martial shine
Both of United's goals were incredibly well-worked team goals courtesy of cohesion within the side. And involved in both were Anthony Martial and double goal-scorer Sabitzer.
The move that led to the opening goal started to materialise after some excellent footwork from Martial, who showed quick feet before delivering a backheel to navigate out of a tight area. Jadon Sancho and Casemiro were then able to shift the ball to Bruno Fernandes in space, with the Portuguese delivering a perfect threaded ball to Sabitzer.
Sabitzer's first touch and turn saw him evade the defenders, with a slight deflection helping his finish to beat Yassin Bounou. The midfielder proved his proficiency in more advanced areas with his work around the edge of the box for the goal, and that was once again the case as United doubled their advantage.
Martial was at the heart of the second goal, producing a turn deep inside the Sevilla half before skipping back inside and holding up play while Sabitzer made a run into space. Martial delivered a precise through ball to Sabitzer, who once again finished with his left foot.
Fans' frustrations around Martial were again vindicated by a really strong display, with a display of what United have been missing when he has been injured. A dynamic element added compared to Wout Weghorst, with particular efficiency when dropping deep to link play.
Sabitzer, meanwhile, excelled almost as a second striker - well-placed to exploit spaces left by Martial when he dropped into deeper areas. He operated in a way that United expected from Donny van de Beek, with similar intelligence inside the final third. Versatility is also within his repertoire given defensive security adds to an ability to operate deeper.
Sabitzer is proving why United could do worse than signing him permanently for a fairly modest fee in the summer. Alternatively, Martial continues to give a headache, with his United future in jeopardy simply because of his struggled to stay fit; if he wasn't so prone to injury, there may not be such incessant discussions about the need to sign a striker.
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Erik ten Hag's innovations pay dividends
For all the talk of Sabitzer and Martial complimenting each other well, Ten Hag deserves credit for his part in deploying Sabitzer in a more advanced role. His ability to innovate shone through, with Fernandes deployed in a deeper role again, from which he could float, to facilitate Sabitzer being more advanced in his positioning.
There was clear instruction for Sabitzer to utilise the space left by Martial, with this sort of rotation causing real trouble for Sevilla - as shown for both of United's goals.
It was very much akin to the role Van de Beek played at Ajax, which is an encouraging sign that United are starting to gain a tactical understanding of what Ten Hag desires from his teams. Sevilla really struggled to get a handle on an intelligent move from Ten Hag, which maximised the usage of intelligent players possession exceptional spatial awareness.
United their own worst enemies?
There were lots of positives to revel in for United - from individual displays to the collective performance. However, as the game progressed and a two-goal lead dissipated in the closing stages, United were left to rue a number of missed opportunities.
It has, strangely, becoming a theme in the last three matches that United have actually had a higher volume first half and have tailed off in the second - a contrast to the general theme throughout this season. And a large reason behind this switch has been an inability to capitalise on dominance in the opening period.
The eventual draw has been attributed to a number of things, but more than anything, United should have been home and dry against a considerably subservient opponent before they had the chance to throw away their advantage.
Sevilla did a good job at disrupting United's rhythm in the second half, including through fouls that created some moments of needle, but the home side's control for large periods was such that it shouldn't have mattered that their momentum was disrupted.
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Freak concessions cost United the game
As much as there were factors that led to United getting into a position where they were able to squander their lead, it has to be said that they were mightily unfortunate in the manner that the win got away from them.
Tyrell Malacia has justifiably come in for criticism for his part in the first goal back from Sevilla, seeming to be unaware of Jesus Navas' run in behind him and letting the ball as a result. When Navas then delivered a first-time ball across, Malacia could only get enough contact on his block to guide the ball past his own goalkeeper.
Moments after, Lisandro Martinez was on the floor in pain after an innocuous incident that has transpired to be season-ending, with a fracture to his fifth metatarsal requiring an operation. It was a freak incident that followed a freak incident, and it somewhat contributed to a further freak incident.
United, as a result of Martinez departing on a stretcher, had to complete the game with 10 men. With that considered, and United rocked by a key player leaving the pitch with a serious injury, Sevilla put the hosts under considerable duress.
Shortly after forcing a save from David de Gea, Youssef En-Nesyri miscued a header significantly, only it bounced off the head of the helpless Harry Maguire, who didn't have enough time to react, and beat De Gea for a second United own goal.
When it's not your day, it's not your day. And for United, it was one of those odd, completely anomalous days.
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Fixture congestion is catching up with United
Martinez heading for a spell on the sidelines is bad news for United - he has been pivotal from both a defensive standpoint and in possession amid a stellar first season at the club, and United will miss him during his absence for the remainder of the season. But even more concerning is that he joins a number of other players on the sidelines.
United have generally been good at avoiding non-contact injuries this season, but there are becoming signs that Ten Hag's fears related to a congested schedule are coming to fruition, and wear and tear is starting to really take its toll.
You only have to look as far as Raphael Varane dropping out at half-time against Sevilla and now having to face "a few weeks" sidelined with a seeming non-contact injury of his own, meaning United are without their two first-choice centre-backs for a crucial run of games.
United have had misfortune with injuries this season even before this stage, but they have mostly been unlucky instances whereby some sort of incident has caused the injury. Donny van de Beek has been the longest term absentee with a knee injury caused by Marcos Senesi's slip against Bournemouth, while an Andy Carroll tackle saw Christian Eriksen out for a while, and Alejandro Garnacho is absent after a Kyle Walker-Peters challenge.
In recent weeks, Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford have both incurred muscle injuries, while Scott McTominay was also sidelined against Sevilla with some form of minor issue. If these sort of niggles persist, and then factoring in longer term absentees, United could be impacted in the closing stages of this season.
Degradation is taking hold, and United are starting to look slightly short-changed across the board. This is a concern with the schedule not lightening up, with lots of the same personnel likely to have to play every upcoming match, which could offer up further injury risk.
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Were Erik ten Hag's substitutions costly?
Lots has been made of this. And, in short, they were by no means the most costly of things. The reality is that United fell foul to a freak ending where everything that could go wrong seemed to go wrong. It was a game that should have been beyond done and dusted before the alterations were made.
There is an argument that the changes were a hit to United's control, and they were weakened somewhat, but there were signs that they started to regress even before then. Anyway, even after the substitutions were made, it felt United were in a comfortable position until the final 10 minutes or so.
At the time, the substitutions made perfect sense. And even in hindsight it remains clear why they were necessary. "Martial [was] with his first start for a long period, so we had to change him on the 60," Ten Hag justified. "Bruno, I got a warning from the ref about a second booking, same with Antony. I had to make the subs - no other choice."
In a way, this all links back to the consequences of fixture congestion. Ten Hag is apprehensive about any more absentees for upcoming games, so he is opting for caution when it comes to his changes. At the same time, it felt an apt opportunity to give Eriksen - a player that enables control - some minutes.
It is hard to say the changes were really conducive to the outcome and disastrous climax to affairs. Nobody, not least Ten Hag, could have foreseen the unlucky concessions and injury to Martinez that sent United down to 10 men for the closing stages.
Sevilla had hardly threatened beforehand, so the changes seemed a safe bet. It was just one of those unfortunate occasions where the stars definitely did not align.
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Where are United heading into the second leg?
The optimist says United should be fine. And they should be. Sevilla have been an ailing outfit this season, and most of their resources are focused on ensuring they don't get dragged into a relegation battle in La Liga. So, essentially heading to Spain at square one, United should have the edge on their opposition.
Saying that, injury absentees and suspension to Fernandes for an accumulation of yellow cards - coming after an incredibly harsh booking for an accidental handball from point-blank range - means United will by no means make the trip at full strength next week.
It will be a test, and they will have to put the late capitulation from the week prior to the back of their minds, but United are clearly the superior side. Sevilla were there for the taking at Old Trafford, and if United can take them, they should be just fine.
It was a case of 'when it rains, it pours' on Thursday night. A repeat of anything similar would be surprising.
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