Sevilla midfielder hits back at claims of getting lucky in comeback vs Manchester United

Sevilla midfielder Nemanja Gudelj has responded to claims that the Spanish club got lucky in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Manchester United.

The Red Devils led 2-0 in the opening 21 minutes thanks to a brace from on-loan Marcel Sabitzer, so supporters expected the game to be killed off by half time, and to have one foot in the semi-finals.

However, killing games off is one thing United have consistently struggled with this season and it showed yet again last Thursday.

It took until the closing stages of the match for the Spaniards to really kick into gear and whilst their players were unable to find the back of the net, United’s did it for them; Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire netted own goals to draw the tie level at 2-2, leaving the Reds all the work to do this week in Seville.

Gudelj on Sevilla being ‘lucky’

Ahead of the reverse fixture, Gudelj said: “I don’t think there was an aspect of luck, I think we on the pitch felt the dominance, especially in the last block of the game. It didn’t matter if an injured player went out, we felt on the pitch like we were close to scoring a goal. Like the coach said, after the first one [goal], you felt the fear of Manchester going back.

“Physically, they couldn’t bring what they had brought in the beginning of the game. There was the opportunity for us to go for the second. Like I said before, even a third. In my opinion, if the game was five minutes more [longer], we would’ve scored the third one [goal].”

Footage courtesy of Football Daily.

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