The Sevilla crowd was ready to erupt when forward luis Muriel appeared free from markers inside the area, with the ball in perfect position for his header just a few meters (yards) from the goal.
From that spot, there was surely nothing Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea could do to keep the hosts from opening the scoring.
Only, there was.
De Gea came up with a spectacular one-handed reflex stop, quickly stretching out his right arm to parry the ball over the crossbar and stun both Muriel and the local fans.
It was the highlight of another solid performance by De Gea, and it helped United hold Sevilla to a 0-0 draw in their first-leg match in the last 16 of the Champions league on Wednesday.
"It was in the last minute of the first half so it was an important moment of the game," De Gea said. "I made a save and I'm happy for that."
Muriel had nobody close to him when he jumped near the six-yard (meter) line but his firm header wasn't placed far enough from De Gea and the goalkeeper made him pay.
In disbelief, the Colombian forward embraced the left post and closed his eyes for a few moments.
"I lament that missed chance," Muriel said. "I could have gone for the corner but I decided to strike it harder instead of placing it. De Gea is a great goalkeeper and made a great save."
A few moments before Muriel's header, De Gea had already been forced to tip a header by Steven N'Zonzi over the crossbar. He also stopped a long-range shot by Muriel by making a difficult diving save close the ground.
The scoreless result left the tie open heading into next month's second leg in Manchester, when Sevilla will be trying to make it to the quarterfinals for the first time and United will look to return to the last eight after three seasons.
In the night's other game, Shakhtar Donetsk came from a goal down to beat Roma 2-1 after midfielder Fred netted the winner with a perfect free kick in the 71st minute.
It was another solid defensive performance by United, who have kept nine clean sheets in their last 11 matches in all competitions. Jose Mourinho's team has the best defence in the Premier league with 19 goals conceded in 27 matches.
"I think the only moment where we felt relieved was in the last couple of minutes in the first half where (we had) a couple of mistakes in possession and they had a couple of good situations with two David great saves," Mourinho said. "We have one match to decide everything at Old Trafford."
Sevilla, a five-time Europa league winner, hadn't been held to a scoreless draw at its Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium in 62 consecutive matches in European competitions, dating back to 2005. De Gea became the first visiting goalkeeper to keep Sevilla from scoring in a Champions league match at Sanchez-Pizjuan.
Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella had warned ahead of the match that his strikers had to improve in front of goal because missed chances could be costly against United's defence. He had complained about the team's wasted chances in recent matches.
"I'm happy with the personality shown by the team but we should have scored a goal or two after creating so many chances," he said. "But we have to be satisfied because it's still wide open."
In one of United's few chances, forward Romelu lukaku had a goal disallowed for controlling the ball with his arm before finding the net from inside the area with about 10 minutes left.
Mourinho raised some eyebrows by leaving Paul Pogba on the bench but had to bring the midfielder on less than 20 minutes into the match because of an injury to Ander Herrera.
Mourinho hails McTominay
Jose Mourinho described Scott McTominay as "fantastic" in response to his decision to select the young midfielder ahead of Paul Pogba for Wednesday's Champions league last 16, first-leg draw with Sevilla.
Pogba had been left out of the starting line-up for the goalless draw with Mourinho apparently unhappy after the French star withdrew from last weekend's FA Cup win at Huddersfield Town citing illness.
That followed criticism from Mourinho of Pogba's recent performances, with the Portuguese making a statement by selecting McTominay, 21, alongside Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic in midfield.
Mourinho later complained that there had been too much focus on Pogba before and after the match, and not enough on a player making his second Champions league start.
"In my pre-match interview I had four questions and three were about Paul, and Paul was not even playing. That's a bit strange," he said.
"If I was one of you (journalists), I would ask if the Manchester United manager agrees that Scott McTominay had a fantastic performance, and my answer would be that yes, he had a fantastic performance.
"He looked a senior player, a player with great maturity. Scott probably looked like a man with dozens and dozens of matches in the Champions league when this is only the second (start).”
Pogba played most of the game anyway, being sent on after just 17 minutes when injury forced Herrera off.
The French star played his part in a typically cautious, backs-to-the-wall away European performance from Mourinho's side. But, tellingly, he later refused to stop for journalists in the mixed zone of the Sanchez Pizjuan.
"Paul made a big effort to try to give the team what I asked of them," insisted Mourinho.
"He gave us stability. For a match away to Sevilla we had a good percentage of the ball, and I think Paul had responsibility for that."
jose blames Doctors
The injury to Herrera came after the Spaniard had been passed fit to return from a hamstring injury that had kept him out of the previous three games.
He could now face another untimely spell on the sidelines, with United's programme including Premier league games against Chelsea and liverpool before the Sevilla second leg on March 13.
"The medical department gave him fully fit. On the pitch he showed the intensity that is only possible if you are fully fit," Mourinho said.
"Then it was a back-heel and a back-heel creates a contraction in the muscular area where he had the biggest problem, and now we have proof that he was not 100 percent fit."
Mourinho said the scoreline "reflected what the game was", despite the Old Trafford side managing just one shot on target all evening.
Sevilla created almost all of the chances, but could not find a way past an inspired David de Gea, who made two stunning saves from Steven N'Zonzi and luis Muriel late in the first half.
"Even with a couple of mistakes the team defended well," Mourinho said. "When we made the mistakes David was obviously there and that is the reason why he is what he is."
United are hoping to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014, while Sevilla have never made it past the last 16 of the Champions league in three attempts in the last decade.
Their coach Vincenzo Montella believes his side have a good chance of progressing, despite struggling recently in big matches away from home.
"I think this Sevilla have to always play to score and try to be superior to our opponents," said the Italian.
"It is not always possible but that is what we have to do, and play to win."