Nemanja Matic has urged Manchester United to move on as quickly as possible, from the defeat against Sevilla that saw us get knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday. Substitute Wissam Ben Yedder’s rapid-fire double after the break helped Vincenzo Montella’s team see off United after the first leg had finished in a goalless draw.
Romelu Lukaku pulled one back late in the game but it wasn’t enough as the damage was already done and Sevilla held on for the victory and entered the last eight.
It was one of the worst European nights at Old Trafford and Matic was quick to give the honest verdict of our team’s overall performance.
“There is no excuse,” Matic told the club’s official website.
“We had a big game, as you know, against Liverpool and we came with high confidence to play this game, but Sevilla were better than us, so they deserved it.”
United now face Brighton in the FA Cup at the weekend and the Serbian wants to turn his focus on that competition and negotiate the Seagulls.
“We have to forget this, but see where we made mistakes and see where we can do better,” the midfielder added.
“Now we have to look to the next game, which is very important for us, in the FA Cup. We have to refocus on Brighton, because they are a good team and we have to win.
“We know that our supporters are sad because of this result, so we need to go back to winning ways. Saturday is a new game and lives go on. This is football and we have to accept that.”
Clearly, United weren’t up to the task on Tuesday. We took the game casually and dished a lacklustre first-half display which helped Sevilla take the centre-stage after the break.
Once they got into the groove, the Spanish side performed one of the great smash-and-grabs and advanced to the quarterfinals of the event for the first time since 1958. They were by far the better side and deserved to go through.
For United, well, Mourinho needs to help his boys get out of the disappointment and focus on the upcoming FA Cup quarterfinal clash against Brighton on Saturday.
Following Champions League exit, the FA Cup remains the only hope of silverware for United this season and Mourinho should go all guns blazing to win it.
