Manchester United saw themselves beaten 3-0 by Barcelona in the quarter-final second leg of the UEFA Champions League at the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening, losing 4-0 on aggregate to the La Liga leaders. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side needs to lick their wounds ahead of a battle to finish in the top four of the Premier League this season.
The match did not start too well for United as Marcus Rashford missed a shot in the opening minute of the match. Barcelona was awarded a penalty in the 11th minute after Fred was adjudged to have fouled Ivan Rakitic. The referee, Felix Brych, used VAR disallowing the penalty, which was lucky for United.
United lasted five minutes before Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a fine finish after Ashley Young gave the ball away on the left and United then gave Messi too much space. Just four minutes later, Messi doubled Barcelona’s lead firing towards David De Gea with the Spanish number one losing the ball underneath himself.
De Gea did start to restore himself later in the first half though, although looking at the save he made, after Messi turned Phil Jones, the Spaniard knew little about it. United had a free kick late in the first half and getting a goal there could have put them back into the game, however, it was not meant to be.
Barcelona scored again just after the hour after Jordi Alba set Philippe Coutinho up to score a beauty of a goal which should be enough to send United packing, although that was effectively done after they conceded the first goal. United did have opportunities in the game but did little to make them important.:
Match Statistics:
Manchester United
1 David De Gea
The Spanish number one will be looking back at the mistakes made in the Camp Nou on Tuesday evening. He managed to stop Sergi Roberto from scoring but was beaten by Lionel Messi twice, one was a howler, and Philippe Coutinho.. I get the impression that De Gea wants to move on, which may happen this summer, if United want a fee for him.
4 Phil Jones
Turned by the class of Messi. Was not at the same level of any of his teammates. This is United's problem. Too much deadwood at the club. United are outclassed by most teams now, thanks to Ed Woodward resigning these players on long contracts.
Chris Smalling
Smalling was not disgraced against Barcelona but he was not at his best. Could have done better against Messi, after saying he had a plan to silence him, which may have worked a week ago but failed tonight. Sad to remember that he's signed a new contract and could be here for years yet.
2 Victor Lindelof
Played a part at right back, which may have been better than Jones. United were missing the attacking capabilities from this position, something they may want to find a result for in the summer.
18 Ashley Young
Committed error after error. Outclassed by Messi on his own. Not good enough to play for United, let alone captain them. Seen enough of Ashley Young now, but hey, we are not allowed to complain about the players, according to some top reds.
39 Scott McTominay
Provided energy in what was always going to be a tough game for United. Could have got a goal back early in the game. Many will write him off instead of backing him, which is one of the problems at the club; some supporters have no patience at all!
17 Fred
Could not keep up with the pace of the game, which was controlled by Barcelona. It may have been a baptism of fire for him though, which could heed positive results for him and United. The writing is on the wall with the owners and Woodward. A massive summer is needed for United to become a force again. But we have heard this before, in each of the last six summers.
6 Paul Pogba
Provided a through ball into Marcus Rashford, in which he hit the crossbar in the first minute of play. The Frenchman was seldom seen after this, which is just one of the problems between him and United. When Pogba can be bothered, he's a great player to have, however, the matches he's bothered to feature in do not come around too often.
14 Jesse Lingard
Started well but soon went off the boil. This seems to be the same old problem for Lingard and United. He is a confident player and I believe he knows his strengths and weaknesses, however, against Barcelona, there were more weaknesses than strengths.
10 Marcus Rashford
The 21-year-old was set a challenge by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and it did not pay off. Had two chances on goal, missing both. It could have been a very different game if he had scored in the first minute of the match.
9 Anthony Martial
When United had a period of dominance in the game, the Frenchman was playing well, but when Barcelona took over in the dominance ranks, Martial was a player who was outclassed and made to look rather plain, which has been coming for some time. Many still rate him as a world beater, which is something that has been shown as not quite right. However, it could change, if he puts in more enthusiasm, which is much-needed right now.
Substitutes
Diogo Dalot
Replaced Martial 65'. The Portuguese teenager looked lively during his 25-minute cameo. Perhaps he should have started at right-back. Good bit of experience for him at the Camp Nou.
Romelu Lukaku
Replaced Rashford 73'. I don't think he put enough effort into getting on the ball enough, however, there was a massive lack of creativity. The void between United and Barcelona was massive. I don't blame him if he wants out in the summer. United need a massive rebuild. It doesn't feel like they have had one in six years, despite spending more than £700 million.
Alexis Sanchez
Replaced Lingard 80'. Could have scored a goal late in the game, which would have been nothing but consolation. He may not have shone but there was some urgency about him. Good to see him fit again and he needs to start performing for the remainder of the season.
Goals:Lionel Messi 16′, 20′, Philippe Coutinho 61′
Assists: Jordi Alba 61′
Manchester United: De Gea; Jones, Smalling, Lindelof, Young; McTominay, Fred, Pogba; Lingard (Sanchez 80′); Rashford (Lukaku 73′), Martial (Dalot 65′)
Substitutes Not Used: Romero; Mata, Pereira, Matic
Bookings: Luis Suarez 77′
