A banner was unfurled in the Sevilla end that read 'We've got a dream' and their supporters ignited a flare. Manchester United should have doused the dream.
Instead it is still alive. United scored all four goals only two of them were in their own net. They did their utmost to make a contest of a tie when its competitiveness ought to have ended after 90 minutes in Manchester.
Tyrell Malacia's dithering defending gave Sevilla a lifeline in the 84th minute and a header that ricocheted in off the dumbstruck head of Harry Maguire in the 92nd minute continued Sevilla's hex over United.
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It is now four without a win against Sevilla for United. Sevilla are a shadow of the side that shocked United at Old Trafford in Jose Mourinho's final full season five years ago; five points above the relegation zone in La Liga. But their Europa League pedigree endures. They will back themselves at the raucous Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium next week.
This was all avoidable for United, who coasted through the first hour, which made Erik ten Hag's handling of the occasion so bewildering. He misjudged the jeopardy of the tie and underestimated a side that has effectively monopolised the competition.
The triple substitution of Christian Eriksen, Anthony Elanga and Wout Weghorst for Bruno Fernandes, Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial with half-an-hour remaining set a frivolous tone with United only 2-0 ahead. With Weghorst, Elanga and Facundo Pellistro in attack at full-time, no wonder the scoring ended at two goals.
Ten Hag's changes seemed odd at the time and they were odder at fullt-time. United fans sing Elanga 'scores goals from everywhere' to Rhythm Is A Dancer yet he is so seldom selected he lacks match rhythm and has gone more than a year without scoring a club goal. Weghorst's two goals in 21 United appearances have been rebounds.
Ten Hag was down the tunnel before any of the players. United ended the night with 10 men as Ten Hag had introduced five substitutes before a crestfallen Lisandro Martinez had to be carried down the tunnel. When Martinez comes to, he may not believe United drew 2-2.
The animated Sevilla analysts were pounding their desks in frustration as David de Gea clawed away a potential equaliser. Soon they were celebrating Maguire's own goal and sensing a winner.
With or without Marcus Rashford, goals are still hard to come by for a United side who have only scored four in two matches all season. Usually, they find a way of winning. This time, they clutched what must feel like a defeat from the jaws of victory.
The deeper United go into the Europa League, the poorer the Spanish opposition. United laid down a marker with the uproarious defeat of Barcelona in their pulsating play-off in February and will still confidently travel back to Seville next week.
But the cost of this night goes beyond the result. They will be without the suspended Fernandes, whose first-half booking seemed to be a blessing in disguise at the time, so commanding was United's performance.
There were also significant injuries to Martinez and Raphael Varane. The latter was at least able to delay treatment and continue for the final minutes of the first half, even managing a Herculean header from a corner in stoppage time. Varane was missed as full-time loomed.
As he demonstrated in the League Cup final, Ten Hag is not averse to precautionary changes at the interval and he is more open to rotation now than in the first two-thirds of the campaign. But the unenforced introductions of Weghorst and Elanga suggested Old Trafford was hosting Soccer Aid.
Ten Hag could do no wrong in the first hour. Switching Fernandes and Marcel Sabitzer redressed the balance of the United midfield last week and this week there was clear vindication. Sabitzer scored twice in the No.10 role that Fernandes has occupied for three years.
Fernandes broke Sevilla's defensive line to feed the Austrian at the apex of the attack. Varane and Martinez's admiration for the assist was so ardent they congratulated Fernandes before Sabitzer.
Fernandes was trumped by Anthony Martial, more of a 10 than a 9 with his masterpiece for Sabitzer's second goal. Martial surveyed his surroundings and Aaron Wan-Bissaka was charging forward down the right-hand side. He seemed the obvious pass. Not so. Martial deceived just about everyone in the stadium to find the gap and find the clinical Sabitzer.
Sabitzer is one Bayern Munich midfielder who thrived in Manchester this week. Two months into his loan, he would be a worthy permanent addition if United can negotiate a reasonable fee with Bayern. United have won six, drawn two and lost one of the nine matches that Sabitzer has started.
This was Martial's first start since the Manchester derby on January 14 and for those who put their hands together for his withdrawal on the hour it was worth the wait. Martial lived up to his billing as the United No.9 with a performance that would have been complete had he crowned it with a goal.
Martial's namesake, Antony, fired blanks again but this was another progressive performance and he endeared himself to the United supporters as he dueled with the Argentine Marcos Acuna. That character fuels Antony's belief and attracted multiple markers. His removal for Pellistri was also dubious when Antony had rattled the crossbar with United's sole standout effort in the second half.
United set the tone for the evening in the first 30 seconds, only Antony's delayed pass ensured Jadon Sancho's goal was chalked off. By full time, Ten Hag looked cheesed off.
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