Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea added another heart-stopping save to his collection as his team held a highly-impressive Sevilla side to a 0-0 draw away from home in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
The Spain international foiled Colombian striker Luis Muriel from point-blank range at the end of the first half not long after tipping over an overhead kick from Argentine defender Gabriel Mercado as the Spaniards created far more chances than Jose Mourinho’s side.
United forward Romelu Lukaku spurned a rare clear opening in the first period when he punted a pass from Alexis Sanchez well over the bar and the Belgian had a goal ruled out for handball late in the second.
Pogba left out
Mourinho left record signing Paul Pogba out of the starting line-up but was forced to bring on the French midfielder when Ander Herrera pulled up injured early in the game.
Sevilla fired 25 shots at De Gea’s goal while United only had six attempts, only one of which was on target.
Muriel paid tribute to de Gea for denying him and said he was disappointed his side did not take their chances. “He moved his body well, I could have hit it in the corner but I went for power over placement and he's a great goalkeeper,” Muriel said.
United coach Jose Mourinho, however, said he did not feel his side had been fortunate to leave Spain with the tie still wide open.
“No, I’m not relieved. I think we finished the game with more space than we had in the beginning, with more chances of scoring the goal,” he told a news conference.
Meanwhile in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Shakhtar Donetsk’s South American blend proved too strong for AS Roma as goals from Facundo Ferreyra and Fred gave it a 2-1 win in a tie played in freezing conditions.
The Serie A team appeared to be coasting in the round-of-16 first-leg tie when Cengiz Under put it ahead with his fifth goal in four games four minutes before halftime.
Superb strike
Yet as the temperature dipped towards minus-nine Celsius, Argentine striker Ferreyra took advantage of poor Roma defending to score with an expertly-taken goal in the 52nd minute.
That turned the game on its head and it was no surprise when Brazilian midfielder Fred curled in a free kick off the underside of the crossbar to stun the visitors in the 71st minute.
The results: Sevilla 0 drew with Manchester United 0; Shakhtar Donetsk 2 (Ferreyra 52, Fred 71) bt Roma 1 .
