Sevilla - Man Utd: Hope from Rashford
The 25-year-old striker is Man Utd's number one striker this season with 28 goals in all competitions. However, after suffering a groin injury in the win over Everton on April 8, Rashford was absent for the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final, when Man Utd drew 2-2 with Sevilla despite taking a two-goal lead after half-time thanks to Marcel Sabitzer.
However, Rashford's return poses a challenge to Erik ten Hag in solving the positional problem for the striker, when Bruno Fernandes - the most important link in the team's play - is suspended.
Recently, Rashford has been effective and dangerous in the central role. But that's when Ten Hag came up with the idea to pull Bruno Fernandes to the pillar to launch assists from afar, and Scott McTominay and Sabitzer played the role of attacking from the middle.
This adjustment makes Man Utd dangerous with long passes behind the opponent's defense for Antony, Jadon Sancho, Rashford or Anthony Martial to take advantage of speed. These are not strong players, but they are all fast and have the ability to create mutations.
With two strong midfielders in contention like McTominay and Sabitzer, Man Utd beat opponents in second-ball situations. In addition, these are two players who are in high scoring form. McTominay scored four goals in two appearances for Scotland, including two against Spain. In the last game, he scored against Everton and was chosen by Whoscored as the best player of the match.
And Sabitzer is the hero of Man Utd in the first leg, without Rashford and Martial has not found his form after injury. But the Austrian midfielder's rescue was not complete because of mistakes and injuries in the defense. Tyrell Malacia's immaturity led to Sevilla's 1-2 shortening in the 84th minute. And also from a ball on the wing, Sevilla made Man Utd receive a second own goal from Harry Maguire.
The Man Utd captain will be the focus in the second leg, when it is likely to pair Victor Lindelof in the context of the main central defenders Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane are absent due to injury. Maguire used to be the mainstay of Man Utd's defense but often made silly mistakes. He still holds the starting position in the England team, but is "indifferent" by Ten Hag when he believes in using rookie Martinez more.
The injury of two central defenders is not the only big loss for Man Utd. Due to receiving a controversial yellow card in the first leg, Fernandes was suspended in the second leg because he had received enough cards. Without him, Man Utd lost the dealer.
In return, Man Utd can be more secure on the left wing, when Luke Shaw returns. The experience of this defender can help the "Red Devils" seal the revealed dead zone in the first leg. The chemistry between Shaw and Rashford may also be a reason for Ten Hag to consider placing the English striker on the left wing and assigning the center position to Wout Weghorst. This is a diagram of Man Utd that has operated quite successfully after recruiting Weghorst in January.
Ten Hag can use Christian Eriksen to play a midfield pairing with Casemiro. This is a formidable duo, but at 31 and with a history of heart disease, Eriksen cannot defend as well as Fernandes. Casemiro's scoring ability is impressive, but Man Utd is forced to stay at McTominay's house. The Scottish midfielder did not travel to Spain with the team due to injury.
These force disturbances pose a challenge to Man Utd when they are guests on the field of a dirty opponent in the European Cup. In the previous four encounters with Sevilla, the "Red Devils" have never won - drawn two, lost two. Only one other team in Europe makes Man Utd so difficult, when they have not won all four times against Atletico - also a Spanish club.
