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David de Gea's series of acrobatic saves ensured that Manchester United got away with a goalless draw at Sevilla in the first leg of their Champions League Round-of-16 tie.
A frantic end to the first half saw Steven N'Zonzi's glancing header tipped over the crossbar by the Spanish goalkeeper, before his save from forward Luis Muriel's powerful header at point-blank range was met with despair and disbelief by fans across the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan stadium.
A subsequent set of saves in the second half bailed United out, as a result of which they go into the return leg at Old Trafford as slight favourites.
Here are the player ratings from a scrappy, yet entertaining game in Seville.
Sevilla
Sergio Rico - 6.5/10
Rico did not have much to do apart from getting gloves behind McTominay’s strike in the first half.
Jesus Navas - 7.5/10
Navas was positive going forward and tracked back to good effect, keeping Young and Alexis at bay.
Gabriel Mercado - 7/10
Mercado passed the Lukaku challenge despite the height disadvantage, not allowing the big striker to overpower him physically and get a clear sight at goal.
Clement Langlet - 7/10
Langlet was a solid figure at the back, making good defensive headers as United sought to long-ball tactics for a fair portion of the game.
Sergio Escudero - 7.5/10
The Sevilla skipper took advantage of a defensive-minded United to surge forward and also make runs into the United box. He kept Rashford in check late in the game.
Ever Banega - 8/10
Banega was tigerish in midfield, driving the ball forward to feed the wide players while also making the ball work in the vicinity of the penalty area. He was able to find gaps in a shaky United defence and exploit them with his exquisite passing.
Steven N’Zonzi - 7.5/10
N'Zonzi did the cleaning up in front of his defence and was a handful for United's defenders in corners, using his height to good effect to win aerial challenges inside their box. He was inches away from scoring; his glanced header was tipped over the bar magnificently by De Gea.
Pablo Sarabia - 7.5/10
Sarabia was hard-working on the right side of midfield ad made dangerous approaches into the box, forcing Lindelof to come out of his defensive line and make a challenge. His perfectly paced low cross across the face of goal in the second half was a whisker away from an incoming Muriel's sliding toe.
Franco Vazquez - 7/10
The attacking midfielder created a couple of promising chances for Muriel and Correa to attack, both comfortably gathered by De Gea. He showed intensity going forward and tested Matic's composure on the ball by pressing him in many occasions.
Joaquin Correa - 6.5/10
A player of potential, Correa made a number of quick-footed runs from the left side and across the 18-yard box without being able to convert them into real goal-scoring opportunities, sometimes ignoring the presence of passing targets near him. He looked threatening but could improve on his decision making when he runs the byline so often.
Luis Muriel - 6.5/10
The Colombian forward would have endured one of the most frustrating nights in his Sevilla career, getting shot after shot away without enjoying the end product - a goal. His header from six yards was denied from entering the net by a world-class save from De Gea.
The Spaniard continued to be his Achilles Heel throughout the evening, making three saves off his shots alone and forcing him to steer a further couple of shots wide. Muriel will hope that luck is on his side at Old Trafford.
Substitutes
Sandro Ramirez - N/A
The forward came on very late and had no time to make an impact apart from a blocked shot.
Guido Pizarro - N/A
Pizarro entered the fray in the 89th minute.
Manchester United
David de Gea - 9/10
With eight saves in total, including a point-blank save on the stroke of half-time to deny Muriel, De Gea was indisputably the Man of the Match.
Antonio Valencia - 6/10
Valencia was caught ball-watching as the ball was played into Muriel in the build-up to the De Gea save. He did not offer much support to Lukaku going forward and had to keep in touch with Correa's movements across the United byline.
Victor Lindelof - 6/10
Lindelof nearly cost United a goal, leaving a backpass for De Gea without actually realizing where his goalkeeper was actually positioned. He looked suspect at times, accepting invitations to leave his defensive line and commit to one-on-one challenges with the likes of Sarabia. He was lucky to come away with a clean sheet.
Chris Smalling - 6/10
Smalling had a decent start to the game, but his concentration at key moments was once again called into question as he failed to mark Muriel and Sarabia from six yards out and allowed each of them to get an effort on goal.
Ashley Young - 7/10
Young was the best of the back four, getting forward with purpose and managing to dig the ball out for a cross. Defensively, he stifled Sarabia for space and matched Jesus Navas for pace.
Ander Herrera - N/A
An unfortunate injury from a backheel ended the Spaniard's evening after just 17 minutes.
Nemanja Matic - 5/10
Matic had a forgettable outing in Seville, losing possession under pressure in critical areas as a result of which United were struggling to string together a handful of passes in midfield. His passes were heavy and did nothing to set his team on the front foot. He, along with his defenders, got out of jail with a clean sheet.
Scott McTominay - 6.5/10
The young midfielder was often seen as the player closest to Lukaku in order to offer him support. He looked composed on the ball and was brave to put in tackles in order to win the ball back when Matic was clearly having an off-day.
Juan Mata - 6.5/10
Mata's work-ethic was credible as he showed some purpose with the ball in attack from both sides of the wing, while also willing to get back to hold his side's defensive shape. However, he was ultimately unable to unlock the Sevilla defence.
Romelu Lukaku - 6/10
Lukaku, not for the first time this season, cut an isolated figure and had to take on defenders one by one on his own in order to extract some space to get a shot away. He skied a shot in the first half after Sanchez had found him with a lovely floated pass, and that was the closest he would get to scoring without getting penalized for handball or offside.
Alexis Sanchez - 6/10
Sanchez provided a perfectly weighed pass for Lukaku to convert, but apart from that, the Chilean lacked the final pass or the drive to make inroads in the defence. He lost the ball countless times and often appeared to be over trying to win back possession from the opponent who robbed him off it.
Substitutes:
Paul Pogba - 6.5/10
Pogba's introduction after 17 minutes brought with it a pinch of liveliness into United's play as they began to give importance to attack. He got into the game very late as the Sevilla players were tiring, displaying his exquisite dribbling and passing range but was ultimately unable to inspire an away goal.
Marcus Rashford - 6.5/10
The 20-year-old added some pace to United's wings, getting the ball at his feet and steaming up the flank. However, he was well marshalled by Sevilla captain Escudero.
Anthony Martial - 6.5/10
Replacing Mata late on, Martial - using his fleet-footedness - did his trademark cutting in and wrong-footing of opponents, but he too failed to apply the finishing touch that would have given United a first-leg advantage.
