Manchester United beat Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday night to advance to the Europa League. Both sides played a previously attractive tie first leg, as the match ended 2-2 at the Camp Nou.
Barça entered a pivotal night without young stars Gabi, Pedri and Ousmane Dembele.The latter two players are currently suffering from muscle injuries and Gavi has been suspended for the match. I’m here. Barça boss Xavi could have chosen to round out a strong front with Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati, but the manager took a more cautious approach to Sergi and his Roberto .
Barça penalized for Fernandez blunder
Despite this, Barça took the lead within 20 minutes of the game. Referee Clement Turpin awarded a penalty to the visitors in the 16th minute when Bruno Fernandes knocked Alejandro Barde down on the edge of the box. Replays suggested that the VAR review might not have awarded the penalty if Turpin had not awarded it in the first place.
Robert Lewandowski looked less confident with his spot kick before United’s David de Gea got the shot. However, the ball was sucked into the side net due to the speed of the shot and a goal was scored.
host fires late
Manchester United opened fire from the half-time break and Fred leveled the scoreline in the 47th minute. Fernandez hit a pass to the Brazilian near the top of his box for Barça. Fred controlled the ball well and passed the diving Marc-André ter Stegen with a shot.
The host continued the onslaught for another fifteen minutes or so. However, Barça nearly regained the lead against the flow of play in the 64th minute, when Jules Kunde headed into United’s goal from close range, but De Gea saved brilliantly.
Instead, United went ahead in the 73rd minute thanks to a goal from Anthony. Luke Shaw started the play by keeping the ball alive with a backheel that prevented goal kicks. The ball fell to Anthony after multiple shots were blocked by a Barça defender. The second-half substitute threw Low his shot into the bottom corner of Tere’s Stegen net.
Anthony’s goal turned out to be the winner of the 2–1 draw. United are now in the Round of 16 of the competition. Barça, on the other hand, need to focus on LaLiga. The Spanish giants now lead the league by eight points over rivals Real Madrid.
Photo: Imago/Sportimage