Manchester United conceded two own goals against Sevilla to put their Europa League hopes in danger.
Midfielder Marcel Sabitzer bemoaned the “two stupid goals” Manchester United conceded as they played out a 2-2 draw with La Liga club Sevilla in the quarterfinals of the Europa League.
The Australian scored two goals in the first half to hand Erik ten Hag’s side a comfortable lead as they seemed to be on course to victory on Thursday night.
But after winger Antony hit the crossbar in the second half, Sevilla came to life and mounted so much pressure on the hosts that eventually paid off.
First Tyrell Malacia scored an own goal after failing to defend a cross from former Manchester City man Jesus Navas and captain Harry Maguire also was a victim of the same course as Youssef En-Nesyri's off-target header deflected off the England defender into the net.
The match showed how far behind United are compared to other top sides in Europe. Sevilla are a team battling relegation in the Spanish top flight and United failed to kill them off in the first half.
Nonetheless, if the Red Devils are to secure the semi-final spot they thought they had sealed when the score was 2-0, they’ll have to show more character, especially with the likes of Lisandro Martínez, Raphael Varane, and Bruno Fernandes all set to miss the return leg.
‘We cannot concede two stupid goals'
Manchester United midfielder Marcel Sabitzer, speaking to BT Sport: "I have problems finding the right words. It was like a rollercoaster game. We had to finish the game off and in the end, it was a draw and it was not what we wanted.
"We had the chance [to finish the game off]. We controlled the game but unfortunately, we gave easy goals away. We cannot concede these kinds of goals and we're really disappointed now.
"In a competition like this, you have to be focused until the end. The last minutes were a bit strange. Two stupid goals. That's not what we wanted. When you are 2-0 up at home you have to get it done."
'We have to learn and have to kill the game'
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag reacted by saying: "We had the game in our hands. We were 2-0 up and should've scored three or four - the game was totally on us. Unlucky moments with injuries, we had to make some subs with injuries then we lost control.
"We conceded two own goals, that's bad luck but we have to deal with it. We have to learn and have to kill the game but everything is open.
"When we didn't get the third and got some injuries we lost the rhythm in the game. We played well in the first half with a lot of belief, scored two great goals for Sabitzer and we could've scored even more, then after half time we lost control of the game.
"I know we can do better with these players in the last part of the game and we needed to be more composed, it was not a nice night."
On the injuries to Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, Ten Hag added: "We've seen Lisandro drops out after a moment where there was no opponent involved so it does not look great. I can't say [how serious it is] at this moment, the same with Rafa."