Manchester United fans who have spent the last 15 months on a complete tour of Spain will be accustomed to the unusual atmosphere. The Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in Sevilla boasts a higher gradient than the Wanda Metropolitano, Reale Arena, and Benito Villamarn and offers a vertiginous perspective to rival Camp Nou for those at the very top.
On the one and only occasion it hosted United fans in 2018, they sang ‘Will Grigg’s on fire’ as Freed From Desire appeared on the playlist in a tribute to the striker who had delivered another FA Cup upset on Manchester City two nights before. It maintained United’s historic treble in a season in which City won two trophies and their first title.
This season, there has been more talk about a Manchester United triple than a City treble. City are favourite’s to win all three events in which they are competing, and the other side of the Champions League semi-finals, which includes the two Milan teams, has been weakened by Napoli’s elimination.
United’s European campaign is in danger of being ended against Spanish opposition for the third time in a row. Sevilla began that pattern five years ago and will return in eerie Cologne in 2020. Barcelona, Villarreal, and Atletico Madrid all had trophyless seasons.
This marks United’s 13th meeting with a Spanish opponent in the previous two years. Sevilla represented a low moment in the reigns of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with their Champions League triumph at Old Trafford provoking Mourinho’s classic ‘football heritage’ history lecture two days later.
Sevilla’s Europa League pedigree continues, and they have the hex on United, who are winless in four meetings with the Andalusians. But for two misfires at the Scoreboard End last week, United would have recorded a first-ever triumph over the six-time Uefa Cup champions.
Even if United had won the first leg of the quarter-finals 2-0, they would have left the pitch unhappy. Sevilla were allowed off the hook, as did Nottingham Forest and Everton. United had enough opportunities against Everton to win a month’s worth of games, and they were ruthless in the second half at the City Ground. Both games concluded in 2-0 victories.
United has yet to defeat a team this season. They shot themselves in the foot seven days ago against Sevilla. Erik ten Hag objected with repeated accusations that he had misread his replacements, instead choosing for the ‘cow-in-the-ass’ simile as though it were an apt description for some of the interviewers in the press rooms at Old Trafford and, 12 hours later, Carrington.
Ten Hag purposefully crippled United by hooking Bruno Fernandes and Antony while inserting Anthony Elanga and Wout Weghorst, no matter how stern the referee was. Sevilla are a terrible team that is currently 13th in La Liga, but they should not be overlooked in a league that they essentially monopolized.
🚨🎙️| Christian Eriksen: "Erik ten Hag has brought discipline in terms of football and ideas. Compared to the beginning, when you look at the players now, you know what they do on the pitch. He brought structure, discipline and a good way to play." pic.twitter.com/bcrssozgog
— centredevils. (@centredevils) April 11, 2023
Ten Hag is not a wimp, and his reaction to Newcastle’s miscalculations has been outstanding. United have won their past four games convincingly, and despite the fact that they have an ailing starting lineup, Christian Eriksen is back. Ten Hag has a cozy comfort blanket in Eriksen. Eriksen was always going to start in Seville, and his preparation in Nottingham couldn’t have been better.
Eriksen had been trading passes with adolescents Zidane Iqbal and Marc Jurado throughout the warm-up before being encouraged to prepare more seriously with 15 minutes till kick-off. From coaching teenagers to outshining opponents.
Casemiro and Eriksen, two 31-year-olds born nine days apart, provide an important axis in this quarter-final. Eriksen, who was born on Valentine’s Day, is as pure as a bouquet of flowers, while Casemiro prepares the way for his teammate to bloom. With the two on the pitch, United has only lost once.
Eriksen and Casemiro’s only defeat came at Villa Park on Unai Emery’s first in charge. Emery oversaw Sevilla’s Europa League grand slam. On their way to the top, Manchester United must still defeat Sevilla.
