Sevilla coach Vincenzo Montella suggested the best way for his team to stop Manchester United causing his side havoc in Wednesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg is to tie up Alexis Sanchez with rope.

Former Italy striker Montella has watched Sanchez's rise since the Chilean first moved to Europe to sign for Udinese and spoke in awe of the forward, who has quickly turned into an influential figure in Jose Mourinho's attack since switching to United from Arsenal.

“He’s a fantastic player, I saw him play in Italy. He has improved so much as his career has progressed, he’s very fast, he leads counterattacks, he’s very strong,” Montella said.

“How do we stop him? I don’t know, we’ll have to block him in some way, maybe tie him up with a rope.”

Sevilla defender Sergio Escudero echoed his manager’s words in admitting his side will be keeping a close eye on Sanchez. He said: “Alexis is a top level player, I knew him from Barcelona he’s fast, intelligent and he can cause us a lot of damage if we’re not on top of him.