Borderline professional. That is how I would describe Manchester United’s performance against Sevilla in the away fixture of the Round of 16. Jose Mourinho loves to take calculated risks and it was a risk worth taking considering the stakes. United played out a goalless draw at Spain and go into the second leg with home advantage and no goals to cover, though they did try to churn out one for them in the final stages of the game. Here we rate the Red Devils from the game:
David de Gea: 10/10
Eight saved shots, with two stunning saves just at the stroke of halftime to become the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet away against Sevilla in the Champions League. True class, indeed!
Antonio Valencia: 5/10
Tried to surge ahead but was pegged back most of the time by the Sevilla wingers.
Chris Smalling: 5/10
Showed some good awareness to ward off attacks inside the box. However, his inability to put away even a five-yarder or to control the ball effectively at times created lots of unrest.
Victor Lindelof: 6/10
A bit rusty, but was strong defensively. Battled his duels well though he was caught off guard against pace at times. Needs to bring in a lot more composure.
Ashley Young: 6/10
Young made some darting runs ahead and could have done better with a bit more cohesion in the final third. Defensively, he was sound and did not let any major threat surge in.
Nemanja Matic: 6/10
Held his fort strong as he read the game well, intercepted the play and was a calming influence with the ball.
Scott McTominay: 7/10
Won the ball back, stopped attacks with his intelligent positioning and always fancied making a notable move ahead. The lad gave some extra support in the midfield to Matic and capped off an impressive performance.
Ander Herrera: 4/10
Looked bright in his short stint though he, unfortunately, pulled his hamstring and might have to spend more time away from the action.
Alexis Sanchez: 6.5/10
Another notable performance from the Chilean though he does not have a goal or an assist to show for it. Sanchez carved out a peach of a ball that could have potentially set up Lukaku’s goal in the first half. He always dropped deep to get control of the ball and brought in some urgency and accuracy with his interlinking.
Juan Mata: 5/10
The Spaniard struggled when the game got a bit physical as he rushed himself into challenges and was unable to carve out accurate passes at the other end.
Romelu Lukaku: 5/10
Some good hold-up play on display but missed a sitter in the first half that could have easily won United the game.
Substitutes:
Paul Pogba: 6/10
Dazzled with the ball at his feet and made two pinpoint passes from deep areas. Needed to get into the game more and had the two-man midfield base to help him at that. Decent, overall.
Marcus Rashford: 5/10
Was brought on in place of Sanchez to introduce a more direct style.
Anthony Martial: 5/10
Started off an amazing counter attack but should have finished it better as his cross was too high in the end.
