Manchester United became the first English top-flight team to lose the semi-finals of three different competitions within the same season following Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Sevilla in the Europa League.
Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring after converting from the penalty spot before Sevilla’s Suso equalised just 17 minutes later.
Sevilla struck late on through Luuk de Jong in the 78th minute of the game to end United’s dreams of a European trophy. The substitute was at the receiving end of a cross by Jesus Navas and tapped in the winning goal for Sevilla.
Wan Bissaka stopped tracking the forward and Lindelof did not dive in to stop the cross and the combined result of this questionable defending allowed Sevilla to score the decisive goal.
The goal prompted a fierce argument as Fernandes vented his frustration at Lindelof’s defending and the duo were seen debating the reason behind the Spanish side scoring.
Both the players looked angry and the camera showed the ‘Iceman’ losing his cool and shouting at his teammate.
The exchange of words evoked scenes of Derby de Lisboa as Lindelof and Bruno both were former players for rivals Benfica and Sporting Lisbon respectively.
The centre-back’s words have been translated and it’s alleged that he said ‘vai tomar no cu filho da puta’, which means ‘go f*** yourself, son of a b****.’
Speaking post-match, Fernandes insisted that the face-off with Lindelof was ‘normal’ and was a natural reaction in such a huge match.
“It’s normal when you concede. It’s not about me or Victor. What happened between me and Victor is normal. It will happen many more times in football. We need to see the mistakes everybody did and improve.” Fernandes told BT Sport.
Early in the second half, United bombarded Sevilla’s goal but were frustrated by Yassine Bounou, who was excellent in goal.
The Red Devils were made to pay in the end for being wasteful in front of goals. The defeat means that United have gone three seasons without a trophy for the club, and a stark reminder of the work they still need to do.
