Manchester United travelled to the Nou Camp to clash heads with Barcelona earlier tonight looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit from the first leg. The Red Devils made a sluggish start to the match and got punished for their defensive frailties in the 16th minute through Lionel Messi’s goal. The Argentine sensation doubled the home team’s lead just four minutes later when David De Gea made a mess of Messi’s attempted shot. Barca took a two-goal lead into the half-time break.
The second half was more of the same with Ernesto Valverde’s side dominating possession while Man United sat back trying to keep the scoreline respectable. Phillipe Coutinho found the back of the net in the 61st minute when he scored with a superb strike from 25 yards out. Barca ran out 3-0 winners on the night which sent Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men back to Manchester with their tails firmly between their legs.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player performed during the encounter against Barcelona.
GK: David De Gea – 3/10
His mistake in the lead up to Barca’s second goal was unforgivable which ultimately ruined any chance of a Man United comeback.
RB: Victor Lindelöf – 4/10
He was played out of position as a makeshift right-back, and it showed in his performance on the pitch tonight.
CB: Chris Smalling – 5/10
The Man United centre-back couldn’t do much about Messi’s first goal. However, he kept his calm under pressure in the second half and did enough to restrict the Barca attackers from heaping more humiliation during the latter stages of the match.
CB: Phil Jones – 4/10
The English defender failed to deal with Messi’s pace and looked average at best while defending in his own half.
LB: Ashley Young – 1/10
The Red Devils veteran made some schoolboy errors while operating as a makeshift left-back. He gifted Messi the ball on quite a few occasions during the encounter. Solskjaer desperately needs a new full-back to replace him in the summer.
CM: Scott McTominay – 4/10
The youngster got a decent chance to level the tie early on but failed to control the ball. Overall, he put in a disappointing performance away at the Nou Camp.
CM: Fred – 4/10
The Brazilian talent was not able to keep up with the intensity of the Barca attackers and put in a mediocre display at the centre of the park.
CM: Paul Pogba – 3/10
The French superstar played an excellent through-ball to release Rashford early on who hit the crossbar from close range. However, Pogba was a passenger for the remainder of this contest which would be worrying for the loyal Man United fans.
CAM: Jesse Lingard – 4/10
He made a good start to the match but was unable to influence the game after Barca seized control in midfield.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 3/10
The English frontman got two glorious chances to score but failed to find the back of the net with his attempts. It was a very frustrating outing for him tonight.
ST: Anthony Martial – 4/10
The Frenchman showed some signs of promise in the first quarter of the match, but his effect on the pitch faded in the second half.
Substitutes:
RM: Diogo Dalot – 5/10
The youngster got some valuable experience after coming on in the 65th minute.
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 4/10
The Belgian centre-forward was mostly a frustrated figure up top.
ST: Alexis Sanchez – 5/10
The Chilean almost got a goal back for the visitors after coming on for the final 11 minutes of this clash.
