The final round-up of the Champions League Round of 16 sees Manchester United secure a goalless draw in Sevilla, and Shakhtar Donetsk beat Roma in Ukraine.
There are a few things I take for granted.
We dress human bones in the flesh. We cling to identities that don’t serve us, and we don’t need. You should never sit through a Manchester United away game in the Champions League.
The accusatory fingers of boredom all point to one man this morning – Jose Mourinho. But, let’s be honest here, United had the same game plan when Sir Alex Ferguson was finding the semi-finals with the same accuracy Phil ‘The Power’ Taylor finds a treble 20.
United’s Champions League record, as impressive as it is, shows a record 22 goalless draws, and so that’s where the smart money was last night as Mourinho’s men made the short trip to Sevilla.
The Spanish outfit was not exactly tip-top, sitting fifth in La Liga and already on their second manager of the season, but they had never failed to score in their previous 18 Champions League ties at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium.
And then, David De Gea showed up.
All the pre-match hype centred on the absence of the £89m man, Paul Pogba. The former most expensive player on the planet had to watch as the 21-year-old Scott McTominay took his place. And Pogba is worthy of a word or two, but the man who makes things tick at United is the Spanish goalkeeper.
United fans and pundits can complain all they like about Mourinho’s perversion with defensive solidarity. There is no better backline in Europe right now. United have kept 23 clean sheets in all competitions this season, and nine in their last eleven.
De Gea’s performance in Sevilla, his 19th clean sheet of the season, was stunning. The Spanish national keeper made eight saves, more than any other Champions League keeper in the past seven years, and his right-hand flip to prevent Luis Muriel’s point-blank header from giving the Spanish side the lead on the stroke of half-time was one of his best.
De Gea and the United backline faced 25 shots, but few of them materialised into noteworthy chances, Muriel having the pick of the bunch. At the other end, United had to pick on the bones. Romelu Lukaku skied one from close range in the first half, and Marcus Rashford had a couple of chances with time running down, but not much for the 2.4k United fans to sing about.
It’s the first time United have reached the knockout stages for four years. Sevilla has never been past this stage in the club’s history. United have won 15 of their 18 home games this season so Sevilla will have to wait another year to travel to parts unknown, with David De Gea is standing in their way.
In the night’s other tie, Shakhtar Donetsk will take a 2-1 lead into the second leg against Roma thanks to goals from Facundo Ferreyra and Fred. Cengiz Ünder had taken the lead for Roma in that one, and his away goal may prove priceless when the pair trots out at the Stadio Olimpico on the 13th March.
Round of 16 Results
Juventus 2 v 2 Spurs
FC Basel 0 v 4 Man City
Porto 0 v 5 Liverpool
Real Madrid 3 v 1 Paris St Germain
Bayern Munich 5 v 0 Besiktas
Chelsea 1 v 1 Barcelona
Sevilla 0 v 0 Man Utd
Shakhtar Donetsk 2 v 1 Roma
Odds (Courtesy of Bodog)
Man City 10/13
Barcelona 5/1
Bayern Munich 5/1
Real Madrid 11/2
Liverpool 10/1
PSG 10/1
Spurs 14/1
Man Utd 20/1
Juventus 28/1
Chelsea 40/1
Roma 66/1
Shakhtar Donetsk 125/1
Sevilla 150/1
