One started on the bench, the other came off after 75 minutes – and as these pictures show, it wasn’t the best of nights for Manchester United’s two superstars.
Manager Jose Mourinho defended his decision to leave £89million Paul Pogba out of his starting line-up for the third time in four games, instead going with 21-year-old Scott McTominay.
January arrival Alexis Sanchez was replaced by Marcus Rashford 15 minutes from the end of a drab goalless draw in Seville.
Alexis Sanchez (left) and Paul Pogba cut frustrated figures during Wednesday night’s draw
The pair share a discussion as Manchester United hold on to a 0-0 draw at Sevilla
Juan Mata tries to get involved as the pair speak during the Champions League last-16 tie
Pogba gives Sanchez a loving bump on the head as they try to break down the Sevilla defence
‘In the press conference, the questions were about Paul [Pogba] but the question should be about the kid,’ said Mourinho. ‘He was fantastic. He did everything well. He put pressure on Ever Banega and stopped him playing, he’s their playmaker.’
The real star of the show was goalkeeper David De Gea, who was hailed as the world’s best goalkeeper after an ‘unreal, breathtaking’ save at the end of the first half.
The Spaniard somehow kept out a point-blank header by Luis Muriel in the final seconds of the first half, prompting former United midfielder and BT Sport pundit Paul Scholes to say: ‘He’s the best around, no doubt.’
Scholes’ former United team-mate and fellow pundit Rio Ferdinand added: ‘It was unreal, breathtaking.
‘De Gea has been doing this for a couple of years, I celebrated it like it was a goal. He’s the best in the world. Countless times he has done that.’
