Lopetegui predicts 'extraordinary' future for Manchester United

While Julen Lopetegui is adamant Sevilla deserved their spot in the Europa League final, he still predicted a bright future for Manchester United.

The European dream ended for Manchester United on Sunday by losing 2-1 to Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals in Cologne.

Sevilla, who are the record five-time winners, proved their expertise in the competition by coming from a goal down through Bruno Fernandes’ ninth-minute penalty to snatch victory thanks to goals from Suso and Luuk de Jong.

Yassine Bounou’s brilliant display in goal, meanwhile, helped Lopetegui’s side keep the scoreline tied at 1-1 early in the second half. United may have started it strongly, but the goalkeeper was more than up to the challenge.

De Jong’s decisive goal, his first in 12 games, then secured victory in the final 12 minutes of the match.

“It was a game of resilience, of being able to compete to the limit as we have always done,” Lopetegui told Movistar.

“Manchester United were the best team in England after the return from lockdown, they have an extraordinary path ahead of them. There are few teams that have the central game of United.

“In the first half, we managed to control them. At the beginning of the second half we didn’t and Bounou was fantastic. Then it balanced out, and we had options to hurt them.”

Lopetegui can now cap off his first season at Sevilla by winning Friday’s Europa League final against either Inter Milan or Shakhtar Donetsk.

It’ll end a resounding campaign that has seen him lead the Andalusian club to a strong fourth-place finish in LaLiga. They’re also unbeaten in their last 20 games in all competitions.

Lopetegui added: “I’ve great happiness for the boys, the fans.

“It [United] is a difficult team to face, and they deserved the reward. We have achieved it and now we rest. When you get to a final, what you want is to win it.”