Erik ten Hag could be about to secure his biggest achievement at Manchester United

When Erik ten Hag wakes up on Friday morning he will hope to celebrate his first anniversary as Manchester United manager by being able to look ahead to a Europa League semi-final.

United travel to Spain on Thursday evening to take on Sevilla in the second leg of their quarter-final showdown, looking to reach their third semi-final of the season. Last week's first leg at Old Trafford saw the Reds squander a two-goal lead, conceding two own goals late on, meaning they will have to work twice as hard to keep their European dream alive and make Ten Hag's first anniversary one worth celebrating.

The Reds, fuelled by a Marcel Sabitzer brace, were coasting in the first half, so much so that it was more a question of how many goals they would get. But the losses of Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez to injury, coupled with Sevilla's fightback, meant, in the end, it turned out to be a night to forget.

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However, as was demonstrated with Sunday's 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, United are not a team that reflect on setbacks for too long; they get back in the saddle at the first available opportunity, bounce back and move on.

To do that when you have got a fully-fit squad is hard enough, let alone when your treatment room is bursting at the seams with some of your star players. United are currently in the midst of an injury crisis, highlighted by the fact youngsters Marc Jurado and Zidane Iqbal were named on the bench at the weekend.

The likes of Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Scott McTominay, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Sabitzer, who was forced to pull out during the warm-up on Sunday afternoon, Varane and Martinez were all absent at