The United supporters who have traveled extensively through Spain over the past 15 months are accustomed to its exclusive atmosphere. The Wanda Metropolitano, Reale Arena, and Benito Villamarn all have a greater gradient than the away section of Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, and those in the uppermost rows have a vertiginous view comparable to that of Camp Nou.
When Freed From Desire appeared on the playlist on the one occasion it hosted United fans in 2018, they sang "Will Grigg's on fire" as a tribute to the striker who had caused another FA Cup shock by Wigan Athletic on Manchester City two nights previously. In a season where City won two awards and their first championship under Pep, that had preserved United's legendary Treble.
This season, for whatever strange reason, there has been more talk about a United treble than a City treble. The second half of the Champions League semi-finals, which consists of the two Milan teams, has been weakened by Napoli's disqualification, making City the favorites to win each of the three championships they are in.
United's European run is in danger of coming to an end against Spanish opponents for the third time in a row. That pattern was started by Sevilla five years ago, and it will return in ominous Cologne in 2020. Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, and Barcelona all had seasons without a trophy.
In the past two years, United has played 13 times against Spanish opposition. Sevilla represented low points in the administrations of Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with their Champions League triumph at Old Trafford inspiring Mourinho's enduring history lesson on "football heritage" two days later.
Sevilla has a long history in the Europa League, and they have a curse on United, which has lost four straight games to the Andalusians. Last week, if not for two ricochets at the Scoreboard End, United would have at least recorded its first victory over the six-time Uefa Cup champions.
Even if United had won the first leg of the quarterfinal match 2-0, they would have still left the field unhappy. In comparison to Nottingham Forest and Everton, Sevilla received a pass.
All season, United has not inflicted a damaging defeat on any team. They shot themselves in the foot against Sevilla seven days ago. Erik ten Hag refuted repeated claims that he had miscalculated the value of his replacements, choosing instead to use the analogy of the "cow-in-the-ass" as though it were an appropriate way to describe some of the questioners in the press rooms at Old Trafford and then Carrington 12 hours later.
While hooking Bruno Fernandes and Antony and bringing in Anthony Elanga and Wout Weghorst, referee Ten Hag purposefully crippled United, no matter how stern the official was. Sevilla is a bad team that is now 13th in La Liga, but they shouldn't be taken lightly in a competition that they essentially controlled.
Ten Hag is not easily hurt, and his handling of Newcastle's errors has been remarkable. Despite how unsettling it is to have an injured starting XI, Christian Eriksen is back, and United have done admirably in their last four games.
Ten Hag has a cozy blanket of solace in Eriksen. Eriksen was going to start in Seville regardless of his preparation, which was excellent in Nottingham.
Eriksen had been exchanging passes with the young players Zidane Iqbal and Marc Jurado during the warm-up when he was told, with 15 minutes left before kickoff, to work harder on his preparation. from teaching teenagers to outperforming competitors.
It came as no surprise United elected Eriksen to flank Ten Hag at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening. "His ability, reading the game, finding the positions, coaching, also composure on the ball, final pass. Definitely, he's very important for us. Experience in Europe, in the Premier League, playing big games, that is definitely tomorrow."
"I was dreaming about being where I am today but back then it was just a dream being back playing football," Eriksen admitted, "taking it step by step and to be the best version of a football player I can be.
"And I was lucky at the time the manager wanted me to come here. I'm enjoying it, I did a year ago, even more now. Here now already with a trophy aim for two more and it will be fun."
For this quarterfinal, Casemiro and Eriksen, the two 31-year-olds born nine days apart, are essential. Eriksen, who was born on February 14th, is as vibrant as a bouquet of roses, and Casemiro lays the foundation for his teammate to flourish. With the two on the field, United has only ever lost once.
"I didn’t even know we had that many games without losing," Eriksen admitted, "but that's something in the future that we want to keep going."
The lone loss for Eriksen and Casemiro came at Villa Park on Unai Emery's first day in charge of the home team. Sevilla's three-peat in the Europa League was overseen by Emery.
On their journey to the top, United still has to defeat Sevilla.
Meanwhile, Ivan Rakitic of Sevilla has guaranteed that against Manchester United this week, Sevilla will give it their all.
Sevilla's comeback in the Europa League first leg at Old Trafford, when they went from two goals down to tie 2-2, has given them new hope.
Ivan Rakitic of Sevilla thinks the La Liga team's home advantage will matter in the second leg. He visited Sevilla while representing Barcelona in the away dressing room, thus he is aware of the importance of the Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium's home crowd.
Erik ten Hag's side will face an intimidating and boisterous environment, Rakitic warned while speaking to AS.
"These people don’t know what awaits them on Thursday. It is a team with a lot of experience and many millions, but United does not know what Ramón Sanchez-Pizjuán is like packed. I know from when I was at Barcelona that players from other teams sing the Sevilla anthem on the pitch," he said.
“It’s unique. What our fans have created is very impressive”
He forewarned that Casemiro and David de Gea, two players who are familiar with the venue, will be anxious.
“De Gea or Casemiro," Ivan Rakitic continued. "who have played here, will surely explain to them that this is something else. You get anywhere and they say that this is Sevilla’s competition."
“They are going to have to suffer, I cannot guarantee that we will qualify but we are going to leave everything on the field.”
An unfavorable record versus Sevilla exists for David de Gea in particular. In eight attempts, including a loss to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey championship, he has yet to defeat them. However, during his final trip with Manchester United in 2018, he managed to maintain a clean sheet.
Against Sevilla, Casemiro has a superior record. In 16 games versus them, he has only suffered four losses, and he hasn't suffered a loss since 2018. He has only ever done it once against them, the sole Spanish team.
Rakitic acknowledged Manchester United's ability to entice Casemiro to the club last summer. "We are talking about one of the most important teams in Europe and with significant economic potential. There are few teams that can take away a Real Madrid starter, Casemiro, that speaks of the strength and potential of Manchester United.”
The presence of players who have previously played for Sevilla will undoubtedly benefit United. Scott McTominay and Victor Lindelof both started for United in the 0-0 draw from last year, however the latter's readiness for the game is in question.
With the FA Cup semifinal taking place at Wembley two days later, United is concerned about how much a victory may drain the team's energies. However, going into the match against Brighton on the heels of a loss would be much more detrimental.
Post a Comment