It was a night of hard-fought football in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal match at Old Trafford that ended in disappointment for the hosts as Manchester United went down by 0-1 at the hands of Barcelona. Luke Shaw scored an unfortunate own goal after Luis Suarez’s effort was directed into his own net by the English left back early in the match.
It was Lionel Messi once again who set up the Uruguayan with a brilliant cross, which was headed down by the striker and it went into the goal off Shaw. The goal was initially adjudged offside, but later it stood after being referred to VAR. However, it was the Manchester United attack that let their side down with not a single shot on target as the Red Devils prepare to play catch up as they travel to Nou Camp in one week’s time.
Here is how the Manchester United players were rated from their defeat against Barcelona.
David De Gea: 7
Played well throughout the match and made some crucial saves or else the scoreline could have been much different. Was not to blame for the goal.
Luke Shaw: 6
He will be gutted with that own goal early in the match. He, however, kept his composure and tried his best to get the better of Messi and was successful to some extent in the second half.
Chris Smalling: 8
He said, “Bring it on” and lived up to his words as the Englishman did not give Messi much space to get his shots away. His tremendous tackling and pinpoint intercepting kept the likes of Coutinho and Suarez quiet for the most part of the match as well.
Victor Lindelof: 6
Looked a little shaky on occasions but had a decent outing overall. Could have done better to prevent Messi from making the cross inside the box to set up Suarez for the header.
Ashley Young: 6
Did well to contain Philippe Coutinho with his physicality. Looked a little fatigued in the second half though.
Scott McTominay: 7
An inspired performance from the young Scot saw him take on the likes of Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal in the heart of the pitch. Indeed a brilliant enforcer in the making.
Fred: 8
Brilliant performance from the Brazilian as he reminded us of his compatriot Fernandinho with his style of play. Initiated attacks with his brilliant passes and kept playing on the shoulders of Ivan Rakitic in order to cut off the supply line from the midfield for the Blaugrana attack and was somewhat successful in doing so.
Paul Pogba: 5
A somewhat disappointing night as he was well contained by Busquets and Arthur in the midfield areas. Could not create much space or get the ball up the pitch with his passes.
Diogo Dalot: 6
Tried to get the ball up the pitch from the left flank but could not do much. Did a decent job while backtracking though.
Romelu Lukaku: 6
Could not do much good as any of his shots were not on target. His physicality in the box was handled well by Gerard Pique.
Marcus Rashford: 5
Did not get any shot on target, just like his striking partner Lukaku. Had a few cracks from a distance but they were completely wayward. Was substituted towards the end of the match.
Substitutes
Anthony Martial: 6
His guile was good but looked ineffective for the most of the match.
Jesse Lingard: 5
A disappointing night for the English forward as he looked far from threatening.
Andreas Pereira: NA
Played too little to warrant a rating.
