Peter Schmeichel has admitted that he is “really disappointed” after Manchester United suffered an epic second-half collapse against Sevilla in the Europa League.
Marcel Sabitzer, who arrived on loan at Old Trafford from Bayern Munich in January, scored a superb brace in seven minutes to put United 2-0 up going into half-time.
However, Erik ten Hag’s men squandered their lead in the dying stages of the first-leg quarter-final clash at Old Trafford on Thursday evening.
Jesus Navas’ cutback deflected off Tyrell Malacia’s leg in the 84th minute and a helpless David de Gea watched on as the ball landed in the back of the United net.
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Sevilla snatched a late draw in injury time after Youssef En-Nesyri’s header took a huge deflection off Harry Maguire and De Gea was unable to prevent the equaliser.
United manager Ten Hag was left with a further headache in the Europa League tie after Lisandro Martinez suffered a nasty-looking injury in the second half.
The Red Devils will travel to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in Spain for the return leg against Sevilla on 20th April.
Schmeichel praised De Gea, Casemiro and Sabitzer for their performances against Sevilla, despite claiming United “could and should” have won by 5-0 on the night.
“It’s a fair enough result, the way that it developed in the second half,” he told BBC Radio 5 Live after the match.
“The players of Manchester United have missed a very good opportunity here.
“A few players today need to have a look at themselves and think about whether they are contributing to the team enough. There are a few players who should be embarrassed with their performances.”
Schmeichel continued: “De Gea played well, he made two fantastic saves, couldn’t do anything about the goals. He kept Man United in the lead to no avail. Casemiro came back and played really well as well.
“The best player is the guy who scored two goals, Marcel Sabitzer was really good. His teammates have let him down. He showed the way and they didn’t catch on to it.”
He added: “It’s 2-2 and as a Man United supporter, I’m really disappointed. This could and should have been a 5-0 win.”
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Topics: Manchester United, Europa League, Sevilla, Football, Peter Schmeichel
Adnan Riaz