Despite holding a comfortable two-goal lead and appearing to be on course for a place in the Europa League semifinals, Manchester United must now bear the consequences of a sudden and catastrophic collapse in the latter stages of the game against Sevilla.
Goals from Tyrell Malacia and Harry Maguire in the 84th and 92nd minutes on Thursday left the quarterfinals in the balance at 2-2 ahead of next week’s second leg in Spain.
Meanwhile, injuries to center backs Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez added to a bad night for Erik ten Hag.
The United manager is already without injured leading scorer Marcus Rashford at a critical point of the season. Bruno Fernandes is also suspended for the second leg after picking up his third yellow card of the competition.
"We had the game in our hands, we were 2-0 up and should have scored three or four, then we had some unlucky moments with injuries," Ten Hag said. "I know we can do better in the last part of the game, we have to be more composed. We were a little bit unlucky defensively. It wasn’t a nice night."
It was Sevilla’s visiting supporters who could be heard singing loudest at the final whistle, with Old Trafford stunned by the Spanish team’s fightback.
United can expect a hot reception at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium next week after giving the Spaniards a lifeline at a time when they looked to be headed out of a competition they have dominated in recent times.
"It’s as we said at halftime: with one goal we get back in the tie and we were strong enough to keep going and to take our chances," Sevilla coach Jose Luis Mendilibar said.
There is a reason why Sevilla have won the trophy six times between 2006-20 and that is because they finds a way through difficult moments.
And while they may sit 13th in the Spanish league, they refused to give up, despite being outplayed for the majority of the match.
Marcel Sabitzer scored in the 14th and 21st to give United a 2-0 halftime lead.
Antony hit the bar after the break, before Sevilla made Ten Hag’s team pay for failing to kill the game off, with Malacia turning Jesus Navas’ cross into his own net to spark the late comeback.
David de Gea pulled off a flying save to deny substitute Youssef En-Nesyri from equalizing in stoppage time. But Sevilla were soon celebrating when Maguire inadvertently diverted En-Nesyri’s header put past his own goalkeeper almost immediately after.
While Ten Hag must now lift his players after relinquishing control of the quarterfinals matchup, he may also have to plan ahead without key defenders.
Varane was substituted at halftime because of an injury. Martinez looked distressed as he was carried off the field by Sevilla players Marcos Acuna and Gonzalo Montiel, his Argentina teammates, late on.
Ten Hag could not give details of the severity of Martinez’s injury, but the player’s reaction - crouched over and covering his face with his hands on the sideline - appeared to show his own concern.
"I think he will not play on Sunday," Ten Hag said. "It looks like that but I can’t say what is the diagnosis and I prefer to wait and then we are clear and know exactly what is it."
United play Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Sunday before the second leg against Sevilla on Thursday and the FA Cup semifinal against Brighton next weekend.
"I have an idea what we can play on Sunday," Ten Hag said. "But first we have to see tomorrow and talk with medical (staff), see who came out of the game and then we have a plan and then we will bring a good team on the pitch."
Feyenoord beat Roma
Matts Wieffer's second-half volley helped Feyenoord beat Roma 1-0 in their Europa League first-leg quarterfinal match.
Oussama Idrissi set up the goal in the 54th minute by breaking down the left before providing a precise cross for Wieffer in a victory that was sweet revenge for the hosts.
The game was a rematch of last year’s final in the inaugural edition of the third-tier Europa Conference League, which Roma won 1-0 for coach Jose Mourinho's fifth European title.
Roma forwards Paulo Dybala and Tammy Abraham both left the game because of injuries.
Juventus had to rely on a late goal from defender Federico Gatti who scored from close range in the 73rd minute to secure three points and a 1-0 victory over Sporting Lisbon.
The goal came against the run of play as the Portuguese team looked ready to again upset the favorite after it eliminated English Premier League leader Arsenal in the previous round.
Florian Wirtz scored seven minutes from time to salvage a 1-1 draw for Leverkusen against Union Saint-Gilloise. Earlier in the second half, forward Victor Boniface scored his seventh goal of the campaign to put the Belgian team ahead.
Conference League
West Ham's perfect record in the Europa Conference League came to an end with a 1-1 draw at Gent. They had 10 wins in the third-tier competition, including qualifying.
Gent top scorer Hugo Cuypers salvaged the draw for the Belgian hosts, equalizing with his fifth goal in the competition this season 12 minutes into the second half.
Danny Ings tapped in a cross from Jarrod Bowen that came after a quickly taken throw-in by Vladimir Coufal to give the visitors a lead in the first-half stoppage time. It was the 30-year-old forward's first European goal.
West Ham are still close to reaching a European semifinal for the second straight year after it was eliminated in the last four of the Europa League by the eventual winners Frankfurt last season.
The Hammers have been waiting for a European trophy since the 1965 title in the European Cup Winners’ Cup.
West Ham or Gent would meet Anderlecht or AZ Alkmaar in the final four. Anderlecht won their first-leg game 2-0 in Brussels.
Fiorentina will take home from Poland’s Lech Poznan a comfortable 4-1 advantage.
Basel was held at home 2-2 by Nice. Zeki Amdouni converted from the spot and added another for the hosts with Terem Moffi scoring both for the visitors.