Stretty News spoke to Sevilla fan and podcaster Chris Lail ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League quarter-final first leg.
Sevilla visit Old Trafford after a difficult season in La Liga, sitting in the bottom half of the table, but they are hoping that the Europa League can bring them some joy this season.
On the other hand, United are on the hunt for their second trophy of the season, but the ultimate aim is to get back into the Champions League for next season.
Chris Lail gives us a Sevilla perspective ahead of the game. You can follow him on Twitter here: @ChrisLail.
Sevilla are having a poor season domestically. What do you put that down to?
Chris: “Sevilla are definitely on the struggle bus this year domestically. The summer was terrible. All the fans thought we would move on from Lopetegui after a disappointing finish to the 21/22 season. For some reason, the front office decided to enter the 22/23 season with him at the helm. To make matters worse, a budget shortfall forced the early in-the-market sale of Diego Carlos to Aston Villa for only 31 million euros. We also sold Jules Kounde for less than our expected market value to Barcelona. Those two players accounted for over 130 caps in a Sevilla uniform and were the key to our league’s best defensive record in 21/22.
“The team failed to fill the positions of those key players. They brought in a very young and inexperienced Frenchman, Tanguay Nianzou, from Bayern Munich, and a more veteran but often injured Brazilian in Marcão from Galatasaray. To compound the terrible summer market, the team loaned out one of our better attacking options, Lucas Ocampos, to Ajax and brought in former Manchester United winger, Adnan Januzaj and an aging Isco. To round out the summer window, the team loaned Manchester’s left-back, Alex Telles.
“The team lost 3 of their first 4 matches of the new La Liga season (1 less than all of 2021/2022) before getting slaughtered by Man City in the first Champions League group match. Further losses caused Lopetegui to lose his job in October of 2022.
“Our former boss Sampaoli was brought in to right the ship, but further disappointment led to his sacking in March 23.
“So, now on our third manager of the campaign, let’s see how it goes. The January window and players returning from long-term injuries have helped solidify the team so we will see if we can push here in the last two months of the season.”
What was the general feeling among Sevilla fans after the draw was made for the Europa League quarter-finals?
Chris: “I guess a bit indifferent. Some were nervous because Man United were in great form going into the draw and just murdered our arch-enemies in the prior Europa League round. Then we took a moment to reflect on our prior meetings and came to understand that we know this tournament well and are always up for a good fight.”
Alex Telles has spent the season on loan at Sevilla. How has he performed and would you like him to stay beyond this season?
“Alex has been a serviceable asset to the team. He isn’t considered among our starters, but he has contributed playing in 28 matches overall with three assists. He has played a few times out of his natural position and showed to be really poor defensively when covering at centre back.
“I can’t imagine him back in the club next season. Sevilla really need to invest in youth. Marcos Acuna, the starter at left back, is coming up on his age 32 season with a contract expiring in the summer of 2025. We need to start recruiting a replacement for him that doesn’t cost a ton of money.
“Telles will be in his last contract year at Man United. If they would allow a free transfer or another loan, then it is possible he could be back next season. I do not think we will pay a transfer fee for him though.”
Another one of our players spent some time at Sevilla on loan. What did the fans think about Anthony Martial last season?
Chris: “It was a very expensive gamble that didn’t work. I applaud the team for bringing a player of his stature into the team, but it just simply didn’t work. We were in a position in January of 2022, where we were only a few points out of first place. There were real discussions about Sevilla competing for the title for the first time since the 1946 season.
“Martial just didn’t make an impact and possibly hurt the chemistry of the squad a bit. He also was injured and missed several matches.”
Which United player, if any, would you like to see in Spain?
Chris: “We need goal scorers so Rashford is the natural selection. There is no way Sevilla would ever be able to afford such a player though or really any of the Man United players. What we really need more than anything right now is a provider like Eriksen. Rakitic was that guy, but he has slowed down so much now.”
How do you think Sevilla will do between now and the end of the season?
Chris: “I am optimistic that we will continue to climb the table. The new manager is one who wants to encourage positive forward play. That’s something we have struggled with, so if he can instill some confidence and continue to push for forward balls, not backward passing, we will win some games. I don’t think European competitions are a reality unless we win the Europa again. I also don’t see us going down at this point. We are much better than many of the teams below us and I think our quality will finally start to show.”
Which players should we watch out for on current form?
Chris: “Youssef En-Neysri is in quite the form lately scoring goals. One of our best January signings, Pape Gueye, is unfortunately not on the European roster so you can avoid him. Bryan Gil, the Tottenham loanee is full of energy, Ocampos is a physical winger that can find the back of the net. To be honest, Man United doesn’t have much to fear. Our midfield is old and slow. Our backline is makeshift. Our MVP this season has probably been Gudelj. The Serbian midfielder turned centre back has been vital this year for us. Not only with his defensive effort, but his goal-scoring has been a surprise.”
What do you think of Manchester United a) the club; b) the team; c) the fans and d) the manager?
Chris: “I’ll be honest here. I don’t watch very much EPL. I am so invested in my club and La Liga, that is about all I have time for. I do catch an occasional match like the Newcastle match a few weeks back.
“The club is historic but has been riding on history for some time now. I’m sure I will upset many of your readers here, but I don’t really respect the throw more money at it to fix it mentality that clubs like Man U, Chelsea, Man City, Barcelona, and others have employed over the years. I just can’t appreciate that type of management. It’s too easy in my opinion. It is much harder to build a club of modest means and compete against the big boys, win trophies, and maintain a top 25 coefficient in UEFA.
“The team has fun players and is a mix of veteran leaders and youth. I admire that type of balance.
“The fans are hit or miss. There are some very arrogant Manchester United fans out there and have a very short memory. I saw this frequently on social media after the draw. Writing Sevilla off without even a thought to our past history with one another.
“With that said, the fans are also some of the best.They are very loyal to the players and will follow them to whatever club they may be playing for. The Martial loan gained our English-Speaking social media team at Sevilla many followers. The same with Telles, they love their club and players.”
High and low point for Sevilla this season?
Chris: “I think the high is still yet to come. Reaching the quarters of this tournament is something that means a lot to us and is a great achievement considering the adversity we are under this season; however, there is no trophy associated with quarter-finals, so our focus needs to be continuing our history of being the Kings of the Europa league.
“It’s hard to pick a low point. Is it the first or second manager sacking? Is it the failure to make it out of the group stage of the Champions League again? Is it staying closer to relegation than Europa League spots all season? Is it the 6-0 shellacking at Atletico Madrid? Or is it the very poor summer transfer window that saw this club go into another season older, and without investment into our future?
I’ll go with the latter.”
Predict the score of the first leg at Old Trafford.
“First leg – I think Man United picks up their first non-friendly victory over Sevilla, 2-0.”
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