The season of Manchester United took a further big hit as they were eliminated from the UEFA Europa League quarterfinals after losing to Sevilla on Friday by a score of 3-0 (5-2 on aggregate).
The Red Devils were one of the favourites to win the UEL championship, but they were undone by a lack of focus, lack of poise, and poor mistakes. Erik Ten Hag, the manager of Manchester United, described his team’s overall performance as “disappointing.”
“A disappointing performance. It was not good enough. We have to do better. There was no composure on the ball, and we made the wrong decisions to quickly concede the goal, and we never came into the game. We changed things, but, straight after halftime, we conceded another goal that was avoidable. It can’t happen at our level,” Erik Ten Hag said after the match, as quoted by Manchester United.
“I think they (the players) showed in the past they could (perform), but tonight we weren’t good enough. It was obvious; it was clear. We didn’t match the standards that you can expect from a team like Manchester United. We have to be better. Everyone can expect higher standards from Manchester United.”
The visitors conceded goals that could have been avoided if they were a bit more careful about the passes they played out from the back. Two out of three goals came from misplaced or overhit passes as they tried to build their attack from the back.
“I don’t think it’s anything with that; I think take away anywhere we play if we give away the goals we do today, I think we’ll lose. So that’s nothing to do with the atmosphere. I just think our own game wasn’t strong enough. (Did the crowd and Sevilla surprise you?) No, absolutely not. We were prepared for their intensity. We didn’t make the right decisions on the pitch,” Ten Hag concluded.
Manchester United will be keen to make a strong comeback on Sunday in the semi-final of the FA Cup against Brighton at Wembley Stadium. On the other hand, Sevilla has booked their place in the UEL semi-finals, and they will face Italian giants Juventus.