Welcome to the highlights of the Europa League semifinal between Sevilla and Manchester United at the Cologne Stadium.
After full time at the Cologne Stadium, it's finished Sevilla 2-1 Manchester United
MATCH REPORT|
That's all we have for you today. Thank you so much for joining us. Until next time, it's goodbye. CIAO!
Once Sevilla settled down, it started to command the game with long spells of possession. Eventually, super-sub Luuk de Jong scored the winner. Two former Premier League players with the goals agaisnt EPL giant Manchester United on the night.
Manchester United started well in the first half and created numerous chances in the first 15 minutes. However, the finish just wasn't there, especially from Martial. Credit where due, Bounou made exceptional saves to keep his team in the hunt.
The first half was a pulsating one. Both teams fought neck and neck and the 1-1 scoreline at the break was a testament to it.
Another semifinal defeat in a Cup campaign for Manchester United this season. The FA Cup to Chelsea, the League Cup and now the Europa League to Sevilla.
90+6' FULL-TIME!!! SEVILLA HAS BEATEN MANCHESTER UNITED TO GO THROUGH TO THE FINAL OF THE 2019/20 UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE!
Still no equaliser for Man United. One minute to go!
90+3' SUBSTITUTION FOR MAN UNITED: Ighalo- IN | Greenwood -OUT
90' SIX MINUTES HAVE BEEN ADDED ON!
87' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR SEVILLA: Gudelj- IN | Jordan -OUT
85' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR MAN UNITED: Mata, Fosu-Mensah, Daniel James, Wan-Bissaka- IN | Rashford, Williams -OUT
Coming to the goal, De Jong slips in between two Man United defenders, receives an excellent cross from the right and beats De Gea with ease on the half volley. A rather comfortable goal in the end. Lindelof and Fernandes get into an argument, where the former gives United No.18 an earful for what he thought was poor marking.
78' GOOOALLLL!!! SEVILLA TAKES THE LEAD IN THIS SEMIFINAL! Off the bench and on to the scoresheet, De Jong has made a real difference.
77' SAVE! Greenwood's attempt is gloved comfortably by Bounou.
After an erratic start to the second half, Sevilla is enjoying long spells of possession now.
CHECK OVER AND NO PENALTY! On we go!
74' SUBSTITUTION FOR SEVILLA: Vazquez- IN | Suso -OUT
72' VAR checking a potential penalty against United! Bruno was defending the ball with his arms tucked when the ball hit his arm.
71' FREE-KICK FOR SEVILLA! It's in a very promising one. Wan-Bissaka brings down Reguilon with a late tackle at the cusp of the box on the left. Jordan goes for goal but the wall does it job. The rebounds falls to Suso, whose attempt it also blocked.
56' SUBSTITUTIONS FOR SEVILLA: Munir El Haddadi, Luuk de Jong- IN | Ocampos, En-Nesyri -OUT
53' SAVE!! Bounou producing the goods and keeping Sevilla in the game. A lapse of concentration from Sevilla but they have Bounou to the rescue. Banega is dispossessed by Martial, who lays it up to Pogba. The French international sets up Martial witha quick through bal.. Fellow France international is one-on-one with the keeper and yet, Bounous saves! So many chances gone begging. Sevilla is yet to find it its feet in the second half and a Man United has created a flurry of chances. But just haven't been able to beat the Sevilla goalkeeper.
50' DOUBLE SAVE!!! ANOTHER EXCEPTIONAL SAVE FROM BOUNOU! Martial is fed to by Martial inside the area. He chests the ball down and looks to beat Bounou at near post but Bounou makes a fine save. The rebound falls to Rashford and his attempt is blocked by Carlos. But the play continues. Martial dances around, goes close to the byline and cuts it to Fernandes. He powers a volley from the edge of the box only to see his shot deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes offit.
46' SAVE! A peach of a through ball from Fernandes to Greenwood. Excellent ball from the centre to find Mason at the edge of the box on the right. Greenwood looks to beat Bounou to the far post but the 'keeper gets down on time to make a fine save.
46' Sevilla sets the ball rolling.
SECOND HALF BEGINS!
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HALF-TIME! And with that, the referee blows the half-time whistle!
45+2' BOTTLED! United, just like it has in the first half, looks dangerous and threatening on the counter. This time, it's Rashford darting down the left flank. He dribbles his way into the box but is too late to thread a pass. He looks to go through on his own but leaves the ball behind.
45+1' SAVE! Pogba and Bruno combine once again. Pogba playes a quick pass to Bruno, who goes for goal on the bounce. But the height was just right from Bounou, who comfortably parries the ball away.
45' TWO minutes have been added to the first half.
43' FOUL AGAINST SEVILLA! Williams and En-Nesyri's mini wrestling match results in Greenwood being brought down. No cards shown but Williams looked in some pain considering his reaction.
39' SAVE! Marcus Rashford fails to recreate his Chelsea free-kick on this occasion. From a long way out towards the right, he goes for goal. The ball dips sharply on the way to the left post before Sevilla's 'keeper Bounou punches the ball back in play. Maguire gets to the end of the rebound and drills a quick, flat cross in but no Man United player is there for the taking and it's a Sevilla throw-in.
33' BLAZED OVER! A patient build-up from United on this occasion. Pogba brings it forward, lays it to Greenwood on his right. Greenwood plays it back Pogba at the edge of the box who sets up Martial in the centre of the area. Martial looks to go for the right top corner but ends up hitting it over the crossbar.
26' GOOOOOALLL!!!!! SUSOOOOO SCORES TO HELP SEVILLA DRAW BACK LEVEL!! From onse sIde of the pitch to another followed by an injection of pace. Sevilla switch wings from right to left. Man United's defence is caught napping there. The ball falls to Reguilon, who zips down the left flank and from the edge of the box, plays an immaculate low cross to the far post. Williams, the left-back, completely missed Suso but Suso didn't miss the target. His first-time shot beats De Gea to the right post with ease. 1-1.
21' YELLOW CARD! After Jesus Navas' shot is blocked near the right post, United looks to break. Bruno has ball in space and threads a quick pass to Martial. Carlos is too aggressive with his challenge from the back and he is booked for bringing Martial down.
17' YELLOW CARD! Williams looks to steal the ball from Jordan, but the latter cuts in on him but Wiliams had already committed. He sticks his legs out and brings out Jordan in the process. Yellow card is degarshined by the referee.
16' SAVE! First of the night by De Gea. Once again, Sevilla looks to capitalise from the left flank. The ball is threaded to Ocampos but he near the byline. He goes for goal only to see his shot saved by De Gea. Corner conceded but nothing comes off it.
14' SIDE-NETTING! Man United midfield steals the ball from Sevilla and Bruno breaks forward. Fred, to his right and in ample space, receives the ball. He dribbles into the area and goes for goal but ends up hitting th side-netting as Diego Carlos narrows down the shot angle.
11' BLOCKED! Banega has the ball in the area and he lines up to take the shot, but Maguire gets to the ball first and clears it.
9' GOOOOOALLLLLL!!!!! THE LOVE AFFAIR BETWEEN BRUNO FERNANDES AND PENALTIES CONINUES!! A HOP, SKIP AND A JUMP! Bruno puts Man United ahead. Top bins stuff really. He goes to his high to his left. Keeper Bounou guesses the right direction but there's no stopping that penalty.
8' PENALTY TO MAN UNITED! Rashford is brought down by Fernando and he is struggling. He will get some medical atttention as Bruno lines up to take the spot-kick!
4' BLOCKED! Sevilla attacks from the left flank and the ball is played to Reguilon, who tries to square it from the byline. Lindelof gets in the way to concede the corner but nothing comes off it.
1' CORNER FOR MAN UNITED! Bruno Fernandes darts down the centre and plays the ball to Greenwood, who fails to get past the defense inside the box but turns around to thread it back to Bruno. The Portugal international takes a crack at goal, but his shot is blocked. Fred takes the corner and Maguire heads the ball a bit over the crossbar.
1' Manchester United gets us underway at the Cologne Stadium.
FIRST HALF BEGINS
The players are out on the pitch and we are ready for kick-off!
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Starting XIs are out:
SEVILLA: Yassine Bounou, Jesus Navas, Diego Carlos, Jules Kounde, Reguilon, Fernando, Joan Jordan, Ever Banega, Suso, Youssef En-Nesyri, Lucas Ocampos
MANCHESTER UNITED: David De Gea, Victor Lindelof, Brandon Williams, Harry Maguire, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Paul Pogba, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood
RECENT FORM:
Sevilla in Europa League: WLDDWW
Sevilla in all competitions: WWDWWW
Manchester United in Europa League : WDWWWW
Manchester United in all competitions: WLDWWW
MATCH PREVIEW: How Manchester United can beat Sevilla by Aashin Prasad
Manchester United will take on Sevilla – unbeaten since the return of football post the Coronavirus-induced break – in the Europa League semifinal on Sunday.
Julen Lopetegui’s side has conceded just five goals and has kept seven clean-sheets in its last eight matches across competitions and predominantly operates in a 4-3-3 system, dominating possession and using intense pressure to regain the ball.
Statistics indicate the emphasis Lopetegui places on ball retention. In La Liga, the team averages 55.9 percent possession – only behind the big two of Barcelona and Real Madrid – while hogging a staggering 66.3 percent in the Europa League.
To derail Sevilla, United can follow the blueprint from Nuno Espirito Santo’s Wolverhampton Wanderers, which narrowly lost 1-0 in the dying minutes of the quarterfinal on Tuesday. Right from the opening minute, Wolves’ 3-5-2 set up in a low block made it difficult for Sevilla to find space between the lines to create chances. United boss Solskjaer has switched between the 4-2-3-1 and the 3-5-2 formation in ‘big games’ in domestic football and has enjoyed success with the three-man system. (READ THE FULL PREVIEW HERE)
-LOPETEGUI ON MAN UNITED-
Sevilla coach Julen Lopetegui believes Manchester United is back to its best ahead of Sunday's Europa League semifinal, where the Spaniards will be targeting its fourth appearance in the competition's showpiece in the last seven years.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side may have laboured to a 1-0 extra-time win over Copenhagen to reach the last four and appeared ragged in its last few games in the Premier League, but Lopetegui has been impressed by the club's resilience.
"I think this United side are the best of the last few years," Lopetegui told a news conference on Saturday ahead of the semi-final in Cologne.
"They've found their football, they have not lost since January in the Premier League, which is such a competitive league, and they are in the right place.
"They're a complete team in many respects and we are going to have to play a great game if we are going to be able to compete with them."
Lopetegui's side has already knocked out Premier League opposition in the one-off tournament in Germany, organised after the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the original competition, edging out Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
The 52-year-old has had an eventful and painful last few years as a manager, being sacked as Spain coach on the eve of the 2018 World Cup for negotiating a move to Real Madrid, who then disposed of him four months later.
But he has hit on a winning formula in his first season in charge of Sevilla, leading the side to finish fourth in La Liga and qualify for the Champions League for the first time in three years.
His side is an Europa League specialist, winning the competition a record five times, including three consecutive triumphs between 2014 and 2016.
"We like playing important and exciting games like this one, it's what we've been working towards and fighting for throughout the season," he added.
"This is a huge game and we'll make sure we're at our best.
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