Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has warned his teammates not to underestimate Sevilla in Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final first leg at Old Trafford.
Sevilla are struggling in La Liga this season, treading water in 13th place after winning only eight of 28 league games. They are just five points above the relegation zone and are highly unlikely to qualify for any European competition unless they can lift the Europa League for a record seventh time.
They started in the Champions League group stage under Julen Lopetegui, before Jorge Sampaoli had five months in charge. Jose Luis Mendilibar is the latest in the hotseat.
Sampaoli was sacked for poor league results but got Sevilla to this stage of the Europa League by seeing off PSV Eindhoven and Fenerbahce in the first two knockout rounds.
De Gea, who was part of the United team that lost against Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals in 2020 – the last time they won the competition, is adamant that La Liga results will be no reflection on the team that turns up for the quarter-final this week and next.
“I think they are struggling a bit in La Liga this season but we know how they play in the Europa League,” the United goalkeeper told ManUtd.com.
“They won it many times already and it’s going to be a very tough game. They are physical players, they are tough players. [It’s a] good team, I don’t know why they are struggling in La Liga, but it’s going to be a very tough match.”
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United are widespread favourites to go all the way this season, but De Gea suggested that Sevilla’s past record in the Europa League still makes them the team to beat.
“When it looks like they cannot win, they win it anyway. So that is how they do it,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter how they are doing in the league: in the European games they change and they put everything [out] there and they win big games. So we have to be very ready to play against them and play a great game to beat them.”
In 12 seasons in which they have been in the UEFA Cup or Europa League within the last 20 years, Sevilla have gone on to lift the trophy in exactly half of them.
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