Sevilla and Manchester United drew 0-0 in the Champions League on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Here are all the highlights from the match.
Manchester United and Sevilla drew 0-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Wednesday in a game that will probably go down as the worst first leg of a round of 16 that has averaged over three goals a match. Then again, this was probably exactly how Jose Mourinho, ever the pragmatist, imagined it.
Mourinho made headlines pre-match for leaving Paul Pogba on the bench, but the match belonged to David de Gea, even after Pogba replaced an injured Ander Herrera after only 16 minutes. The Spaniard made eight saves in total, but two in particular, which came in a five minute span at the end of the first half, stood out.
The first came after Steven N’Zonzi flicked toward goal following one of Sevilla’s nine first-half corners, a shot de Gea had to dive backward to help over the bar. His next was even better, as he saved Luis Muriel’s header from all of six yards, tipping over with a stunning, reflexive stab of his right hand.
The saves, particularly the second, were stunning, but that they were the high point of the match is a reflection of how uninspired both teams were. Sevilla were the better side, but then United were clearly happy to sit back, keep a solid defensive shape and take a clean sheet back to Old Trafford for the second leg.
From that perspective, this was a professional, effective performance by United. Their keeper bailed them out once, but that’s the luxury of having a world-class keeper. Nonetheless, their lack of attacking threat, Romelu Lukaku’s isolation throughout and Alexis Sanchez’s busy but somewhat directionless performance are all cause for concern.
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Highlights
The second leg will be played on March 13 at Old Trafford.