Manchester United held on to a stalemate at Sevilla with a performance that highlighted the visitors' struggles and the Spanish outfit's lack of cutting edge. Jose Mourinho's men will feel like they were let off with a warning with much to improve upon for the Old Trafford clash.
The star of the show was David De Gea, whose overall performance and stunning save on the verge of half-time earned him praise as Manchester United fought out a 0-0 draw at Sevilla. A lacklustre performance by the Red Devils could have been worse had it not been for the goalkeeper's heroics, somehow keeping out a point-blank header from Luis Muriel. It's never a good sign when your stopper is hailed as man of the match.
This did not, however, deflect the spotlight from those who were expected to perform at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan but instead flew under the radar, leaving Jose Mourinho's men with everything to do at Old Trafford. Sevilla boss Vincenzo Montella had shown himself to be wary about the likes of Alexis Sanchez and Paul Pogba. After seeing them on Wednesday, he will be more confident in his team's chances. Some might even say the Spaniards now hold the upper hand in the tie.
It was a challenging night for United's top stars, with Romelu Lukaku struggling to impose himself up top, and Paul Pogba coming off the bench as speculation over his Old Trafford future continues to gather pace. January arrival Alexis Sanchez cut a frustrated figure after being stifled by the hosts and was replaced by Marcus Rashford with 15 minutes to go.
Not a night to remember for United's superstars who have much to prove in the return fixture, especially to manager Jose Mourinho. The Portuguese defended his decision to bench £89million Paul Pogba in favour of 21-year-old Scott McTominay. The third time in four games that the flamboyant Frenchman has been left out of the starting line-up.