Erik ten Hag has all the evidence he needs to make important Manchester United transfer decision
Erik ten Hag will be expecting a response from his Manchester United players after their disappointing exit from the Europa League, and while his focus will have quickly switched to Sunday's FA Cup clash with Brighton, the midweek debacle will be difficult to forget.
Having taken a 2-0 advantage in the first leg at Old Trafford last week, the Reds were cruising towards the semi-finals. However, when Tyrell Malacia put the ball into the back of his own net, it quickly became clear that things were about to take an unexpected turn. Harry Maguire - having come off the bench at half time - became the second Reds player to score an own goal as the home side somehow squandered a two-goal advantage.
United had gone from travelling to the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium with a 2-0 lead in the bank to needing a victory away from home in a tricky environment. It was far from ideal, but Ten Hag and his players will still have thought they were capable of overcoming a Sevilla side who had won just five home matches in La Liga this term.
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Even without first-choice centre-back pairing Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane - who were both injured in the first leg draw - or the suspended Bruno Fernandes, the Reds were heavily backed to get the job done.
As it happened, the Reds were thrashed by the Spanish side and their European quest ended with a whimper. The 3-0 loss on the night condemned them to a 5-2 defeat on aggregate as United rued a number of individual errors across the two legs. The debate around who was to responsible for the first goal in Spain will rage on, but Maguire and David de Gea both have to take some of the blame.
Sevilla's second