Manchester United's draw against Sevilla was costly on and off the pitch
It was a night that demonstrated what Manchester United could become under Erik ten Hag and ultimately underscored that much work remains to be done.
Over the course of an hour, the Dutchman's side played with the same swagger, flexibility and confidence that the encounter could end in Manchester. In fact, it should have been, but with one foot almost reaching the Europa League semi-finals, the game went on for a frantic six minutes that left old injuries exposed at Old Trafford.
There was a charitable finish from United and commendable tenacity from Sevilla, but most of all, it was a story of fragility beneath the facade of Ten Hag's best squad.
It started very well. With just 13 minutes left, Marcel Sabitzer opened the scoring after a fine pass from Bruno Fernandes, who was sent into space after Anthony Martial's brilliant play.
The Austrian had his second match of the night seven minutes later when he overcame the oncoming Yassine Bounou. With the majority of United's squad hugging the Austrian in the corner, Casemiro ensured that his teammates paid tribute to Martial by pointing the finger at the Frenchman in celebration.
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Lampard looks for first win on return to Stamford Bridge but takes blows from Koulibaly
Frank Lampard
LONDON. - Chelsea manager Frank Lampard says he is delighted and honored to be back at Stamford Bridge this weekend, but knows they have a tough task ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion as he searches for victory. The first win in the second time playing for the London team.
Lampard, who took over as caretaker manager last week, has seen two defeats to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League and Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Brighton are seventh in the table, seven points ahead of 11th-placed Chelsea, and Lampard says he has no time to enjoy a return to Stamford Bridge, where the club's all-time top scorer was before. that managed for 19 months from 2019 to 2021.
“I am so happy to be back and the honor is never lost. I love every minute of it and I'm happy to be back," Lampard told reporters ahead of Saturday's game.
“But the common feeling is to focus on work. I would appreciate coming back, but I'll keep a serious face. However, Kalidou Koulibaly will not feature after the centre-back sustained a hamstring injury against Real Madrid and the defender is expected to be sidelined.
"No, he won't be able to take part in both games... He won't be ready for weeks, not days," said Lampard. Lampard added Koulibaly's injury was more of a disappointment in the Champions League, where they named another squad, but added it was also an "opportunity" for others to step up. Brighton are entering European football for the first time in the club's history and Lampard praised their progress over the years but did not want to compare it to Chelsea's progress under the new owners.
"I want people to understand that this is a really difficult game for us, between the two games in Madrid. We will have to give our best and compete physically against Brighton," he said.
“Brighton is a great role model. You can follow them for the last 5 or 6 years and see the nice progression from Championship to Premier League. "Chelsea's journey has been different and we've been successful for a long time. Now there's transitions between owners. When you're in a process, on a project, you're going to have to dig into it. .
Lampard also said that they should 'manage' N'Golo Kante after the Frenchman returned from a lengthy injury absence this month.
"When he's healthy, he's clearly one of the best midfielders in the world. He always delivers high-quality and effective products," said Lampard.
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