Man United players ‘fight for futures’ after Europa League exit

It was a quarterfinal to forget for Manchester United – but a second leg in Seville which is likely to stick in Erik ten Hag’s mind when building his squad for next season.

In the first leg at Old Trafford, United were 2-0 up and cruising only for a pair of late own goals to leave the tie in the balance. The worst was yet to come.

Amid a thunderous atmosphere at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium, Sevilla ran out comfortable 3-0 winners – 5-2 on aggregate – with two of their goals directly down to United errors.

Ten Hag’s side only have themselves to blame. No wonder the United manager was furious in his post-match interviews.

“This was a great opportunity, a great occasion, to win something and we gave it away – we have to blame ourselves,” he told BT Sport.

“It’s gone, we can’t change it. We have to look forward to Sunday, that’s the next opportunity.

“It’s unacceptable. We lost the battles, they had more passion, more desire, more willingness, that’s difficult to win games.

“Everyone can see the demands and standard has to be higher in a club like Manchester United.”

United face Brighton at Wembley in the FA Cup semi-finals tomorrow before visiting Tottenham in a key game in the Premier League top-four race four days later.

They have won a trophy this season, but if they repeat their performance in Seville in these games, their season could be in tatters.
Culled from BBCSports