Shakhtar Donetsk's South American blend proved too strong for AS Roma as goals from Facundo Ferreyra and Fred gave them a 2-1 win in a Champions League group-of-16 first-leg tie played in freezing conditions at Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.
At Seville, Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea added another heart-stopping save to his collection as his team held a highly impressive Sevilla side to a goalless draw away from home.
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
Round of 16
Wednesday's results
Sevilla 0-0 Manchester United
Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 Roma
Tuesday's results
Chelsea 1-1 Barcelona
Bayern Munich 5-0 Besiktas
The Spain international foiled the home side's Colombian striker Luis Muriel from point-blank range at the end of the first half not long after tipping over an overhead kick from Argentine defender Gabriel Mercado as the Spaniards created far more chances than Jose Mourinho's side.
United forward Romelu Lukaku spurned a rare clear opening in the first period when he punted a pass from Alexis Sanchez well over the bar and the Belgian had a goal ruled out for handball late in the second.
Mourinho's relationship with Paul Pogba was left open to more scrutiny when the Portuguese left his record signing out of the starting line-up, although he was forced to throw on the French midfielder when Ander Herrera pulled up injured early in the game.
Pogba did not manage to answer his many recent critics, who have questioned his influence over the last two months. He was unable to engineer many attacks and sent a long, hopeful shot well wide of goal in the second half.
United's latest star signing, Alexis Sanchez, also had a night to forget in his first European game for the club since joining from Arsenal in January as he saw little of the ball and was hauled off for Marcus Rashford in the 75th minute.
Muriel paid tribute to De Gea for denying him and said he was disappointed his side did not take their chances.
"He moved his body well, I could have hit it in the corner but I went for power over placement and he's a great goalkeeper," Muriel told reporters.
"When you play matches like this the key is scoring in these little chances like that, but in general the team played very well. We played exactly as you should: we were disciplined in every stage of the game but we leave here feeling a little bitter that we couldn't score.
"When you look at this performance you have to think we can play like that at any ground, but in the second leg it's vital we stay organised."
That match takes place at Old Trafford on March 13.
At Kharkiv, Serie A's Roma appeared to be coasting in the round-of-16 first-leg tie when Cengiz Under put them ahead with his fifth goal in four games four minutes before halftime.
Yet as the temperature dipped towards minus-9 Celsius, Argentine striker Ferreyra took advantage of poor Roma defending to score with an expertly-taken goal in the 52nd minute.
That turned the game on its head and it was no surprise when Brazilian midfielder Fred curled in a free kick off the underside of the crossbar to stun the visitors in the 71st minute.
Shakhtar, the first team to beat English Premier League leaders Manchester City this season, began with six South American-born players in their lineup, though one of them, Marlos, now plays for Ukraine.
The Pitmen, playing only their second competitive game since a two-month winter break, were on the back foot in the first half and goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov made a double save from Edin Dzeko and Federico Fazio from one of several Roma corners.
Dzeko wasted another attack with a tame shot at Pyatov but made amends by setting up Roma's goal in the 41st minute.
The Bosnian threaded a clever ball inside Ismaily to Under and, although Pyatov got a hand to the Turk's shot, he could not prevent it ending up in the net.
The Italian side looked comfortable after the break, as well, but the game turned in the 52nd minute when Shakhtar scored out of the blue.
Yaroslav Rakitskiy played a long ball out of defence which Alessandro Florenzi lunged at but failed to cut out, allowing Ferrerya to break away.
The Argentine took his chance with aplomb, cutting inside Kostas Manolas to slot the ball past Roma keeper Alisson.
Shakhtar took control and Alisson made superb saves from Marlos and Taison before he was beaten by a brilliant free kick from fellow Brazilian Fred, who sent a looping shot over the wall and in off the crossbar.
Yet in stoppage time Alisson made a save to keep out another Ferreyra effort, which could yet prove crucial.