Erik ten Hag has warned his Manchester United players not to lose their cool tonight and blow their chances of Europa League glory.
United go into the second leg of their quarter-final tie level at 2-2 with Sevilla, having thrown away a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford by conceding two late own goals.
Ten Hag was forced to substitute Bruno Fernandes and Antony in the first leg, after being warned by the referee that both were close to being shown a second yellow card. Antony became embroiled in a spat with Sevilla's Marcos Acuna, with Ten Hag urging his players to channel their emotion in the right way, rather than allowing themselves to be wound up.
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Against that backdrop, Ten Hag repeated his warning to his players not to get involved in personal grudge matches and to ensure they keep their focus on the task of winning the tie.
“With emotion, you have to use it as a tool, but you have to control it as well,” said Ten Hag.
“You have to use it in the right moments and the timing of it is important, in big games especially, so you have to know when you use it and definitely when not to.
“Last week, we did it as well, so focus on the game and focus on playing the best game you can, as a team and individual.”
United, blighted by injuries, have been boosted by the return of top scorer Marcus Rashford, defenders Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia and midfielder Marcel Sabitzer.
But United remain without their first-choice central defensive pairing of Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane, as well as midfielder Scott McTominay and winger Alejandro Garnacho.
And with midfield playmaker Bruno Fernandes suspended tonight, the return of Sabitzer in particular is a huge plus for Ten Hag, who remained coy on his team selection.
"The players who are back are available, because that's why they were on the airplane, but I will make my decisions tomorrow,” said Ten Hag. “They trained today, so we will see what the reaction is and then we will make the decisions.
"Marcus has had one session with the team, but he had some sessions before individually."
Reflecting on the first leg, which United dominated for an hour before succumbing to injuries and Sevilla's late pressure, Ten Hag conceded his players had learned a lesson.
“It's clear that it's a tie of two legs,” said Ten Hag. “We played over 60 minutes quite well and in the last 30 minutes we became passive, which is not acceptable.
“We know that and you see that, when you play a game for only 60 minutes, you get punished. We have taken the lesson.”
Christian Eriksen, who made his first start for two months on Sunday after returning from injury, is relishing competing for the big prizes at the business end of the season.
Eriksen – who suffered a cardiac arrest playing for Denmark at Euro 2020 nearly two years ago – said he had dreamed about playing at the highest level again.
“Looking back a year ago, I was dreaming about being where I am today, but it was a dream just being back playing football,” said Eriksen.
“I was lucky the manager wanted me to come here. So I'm here now, already with a trophy and aiming for two more.”
