De Gea The Hero In Seville

David De Gea (9)

Denied a near certain goal from Lucas Muriel in the first half. Consistently good. Best in the world, no doubt about it.

Antonio Valencia (5)

Form has plummeted in the last few weeks and looks void of confidence in his final ball delivery. Still defensively astute at most times though.

Chris Smalling (6)

Got to admit, Smalling’s drastic improvement is a credit to the player every United fan hoped they’d see. Yet consistency is a major issue and needs to be sorted out.

Victor Lindelof (5)

Eric Bailly will likely take the place of the Swede on Sunday if all fit. It was that kind of night for Lindelof. Last ditch tackles again crucial but shouldn’t have been in the position to make them.

Ashley Young (6)

One of his better displays. Intelligence evident throughout the 90 minutes. Disciplined in defence and continually tracked the necessary runners.

Nemanja Matic (6)

Let down by Alexis Sanchez after a fine through ball set the Chilean away. But otherwise it was a sturdy enough display.

Scott McTominay (7)

Jose Mourinho’s faith in the youngster is proving dividends. What’s most impressive is the mental maturity and awareness that McTominay possesses. At times tonight it was refreshing to see.

Ander Herrera (3)

No real impact on the game. Struggling with injuries and was hampered by another in just 16 minutes.

Alexis Sanchez (4)

Liability in possession, and although the Chilean fashioned a chance for Romelu Lukaku it was one of his worst in a United shirt.

Juan Mata (3)

Out-muscled, outfought and outplayed. Rightly substituted in the second half as the Spaniard looked isolated in large periods of the match.

Romelu Lukaku (5)

Couldn’t repeat his clinical finishing that he found against Huddersfield Town. Skied a difficult volley in the first half but mostly ineffective against a rough and alert Sevilla back-line.

Substitutes:

Paul Pogba (5)

Created space for himself through trickery that very few possess, but decision making let the Frenchman down in the final third as the home side’s structure quickly narrowed.

Marcus Rashford (5)

Free-kick from 32m whistled wide and pace that late on a useful asset down the left.

Anthony Martial (5)

Took on Jesus Navas but eventually not enough time left to make an impact.

MAN OF THE MATCH

David De Gea

David ‘the cat’ De Gea is the best in the business. When called upon he delivered. Again. There’s this constant feeling that from certain Manchester United players in tricky away games against stellar opposition, you’re not expecting much regarding quality of football. So often they seem to freeze, not knowing how to work the ball through the narrow space that is on offer. This applies defensively as well, so it was perhaps natural that De Gea came to the rescue on a number of occasions in Southern Spain, the best coming from a header by Muriel. It was the first time he had played in Spain in four years, yet didn’t look out of place one bit.