De Gea stars as Man U fend off strong Sevilla

Madrid, Feb 22 (IANS) Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea was largely responsible for his side taking a 0-0 draw from the first leg of their Champions draw away to Sevilla despite being largely overrun by the Spanish side for the majority of the game.

The Spanish side had 18 shots, 10 of which were on target, to Manchester United's paltry five, and forced 12 corners to just four for the visitors, but despite their efforts they were unable to find a way past the man who will keep goal for Spain in this summer's World Cup finals, reports Xinhua. 

The big news before the game was the decision by United coach, Jose Mourinho, to leave Paul Pogba on the sub's bench and even though he replaced the injured Ander Herrera just after the 15 minute mark, the Frenchman could do little to stem the Sevilla tide.

Although Romelu Lukaku always looked threatening for United, Sevilla were carrying the weight of the attacking football and created 12 chances before halftime.

The best of those saw De Gea tip Steven N' Zonzi's header over the bar, before producing a miraculous stop to then deny Luis Muriel, who buried his head in the pitch in disbelief.

The second half saw Franco Vazquez fire over, while Muriel again went close on two occasions and Clement Lenglet failed to get power into a header following a free kick.

However, though Manchester United failed to have a clear attempt on goal in the second half, the majority of Sevilla's opportunities were from outside the box. Despite substitute Sandro Ramirez attempting to add extra aggression in the closing minutes and Jesus Navas optimistically claiming a penalty, it was not to be for Sevilla.

But they will now travel to Old Trafford in three weeks knowing that surely United will have to try and play more football in the second leg.