(Football news) Manchester United were eliminated from the Europa League after losing to Sevilla 3-0 at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium. The Red Devils threw a two goal lead in the first leg and had a dreadful performance in Spain. An error by Harry Maguire presented Youssef En-Nesyri with an opportunity that was converted in the seventh minute and things got worse when Loic Bade’s header went into the net after the break. En-Nesyri then scored once again after David De Gea’s howler in the 81st minute in what was a very embarrassing performance for Erik ten Hag’s side.
Manchester United have had plenty of very demoralising defeats away from home this season and the elimination against Sevilla comes at a bad time, especially considering that their FA Cup semi-final match against Brighton is on the horizon, which is their only hope of winning a second trophy this season. The Red Devils have now been eliminated from a European competition by Spanish opposition for the sixth consecutive season and will now need to bounce back quickly to salvage their season ahead.
Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said “It’s clear when you make such mistakes it’s very difficult to win a football match. The fans can expect us to deal with it [the atmosphere], so I will not say that is an explanation for it [the defeat]. We have to do better, that is the demand. We were not composed; we were not calm. We made bad decision; we lost battles, and they had more passion and desire and willingness. Then it’s difficult to win football games. This is a problem; we cannot run away from it.
“It’s not about them [the absent players], it’s about the players on the pitch, they have to perform. I believe in them; I trust them and then they have to show. But today, we were not good enough. We were not ready for the game and that cannot be. When you play for Manchester United you have to be ready for every game, especially on this great occasion in a quarter-final in Europe. We have to blame ourselves.”
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