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The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals draw was held yesterday in Nyon, Switzerland.
Without a doubt, the best matchup of the last eight has to be the faceoff between the Catalan heavyweights, Barcelona, and Manchester United. In the previous four occasions, Barcelona have won twice, both being finals in Rome and Wembley. Manchester United won once in the second leg of the 2008 semifinals.
Things have changed a lot since these sides last faced off as the last game between the teams came in 2011 at Wembley. Barcelona won the final in comprehensive fashion but only three members of the title-winning team are still a part of the squad. Manchester United only have Antonio Valencia and Chris Smalling in their squad from back then.
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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has had a fairytale run since he took over the team. The Red Devils managed to get past PSG in the Round of 16 despite a 2-0 loss at home. In the league, they held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw while going on a 12 match unbeaten streak. Even though Ole has stabilized the ship at United, it is very unlikely that they will get past Barcelona.
Here are three reasons why Manchester United will lose to Barcelona.
Also see : Manchester Transfer News, Chelsea Transfer News, Gold Cup Standings
#3 Manchester United still don't have a definite style of play
A thing that is good and bad in games against European heavyweights is the unpredictability of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Devils player has tried a lot of things at United. The false-9, diamond midfield, changing formations in every game, it looks like a very innovative thing. Ole's work is commendable since he is trying to get the balance right for the next season and still keeping the top 4 hopes alive.
But what this causes is a lack of playing with a definite style. Player roles tend to change with a change in the formation. Marcus Rashford has played as a wide attacker, lone-striker, false 9 and second striker.
Four roles in just under 10 matches or so. In the meantime, he has to combine with Pogba and Fred in the midfield on certain occasions, while in other games as a second-striker, he needs to combine with Lukaku or even Alexis Sanchez.
The point is that the players don't have a constant role for all matches. Thus, the understanding between players also goes down by a margin. The formation also keeps changing.
It was a 4-2-2-2 against Leicester, almost a 4-1-4-1 against Burnley, a 4-4-2 against Arsenal, a 4-3-3 against Crystal Palace, and a 4-3-1-2 against Liverpool. This also creates changing roles for players.
Dalot has featured as right back, right winger, wide midfielder etc. Sometimes Fred is a central midfielder and sometimes he has to slot into a double pivot with Matic. Similarly, sometimes Matic is a sole pivot and on other occasions, he has been supported by Fred and Herrara in a double pivot. These changes in the role are not at all easy to handle. A double pivot functions very differently to that of a pivot.
Going up against Barcelona, who have all their bases covered, all the patterns of play tried and tested, all the players fully aware of what is expected of them, this unpredictability of Ole adds little to the result. The Blaugrana don't study their opponents as much as they are concerned with executing their gameplan.
We know that Barcelona will play a 4-3-3 and Messi has a strong link-up with each and every player on the pitch. For all we know, a poised style of play is required against Barcelona, players have to excel in their roles. One mistake is all it takes for Barcelona to pounce.
And above all, Manchester United haven't even faced as horrific a press as that of Barcelona. Without familiar roles and teammates, it seems a huge task at hand for Ole's United, a task that they have to dig deep to overcome.
#2 Barcelona's midfield superiority
The heart of any football team is in the midfield. It is where all the battles are won or lost. Build-ups start here, ball possessions are lost and won here, the through balls, the overlapping fullbacks and everything happens here.
When we compare the midfield of Barcelona and Manchester United, is there even a comparison? Nemanja Matic and Sergio Busquets are defensive midfielders, Busquets is better hands down. Rakitic and Fred are two players with a similar style of play but Rakitic is better.
Moreover, as we talked earlier, Barcelona's midfielders know their roles and are well suited to it. Arthur knows his role is to shield the ball and hold-up possession while passing well. Busquets knows he has to drop in between the centre backs when required. Rakitic does not need to be told twice what he is supposed to do.
Paul Pogba is the most potent weapon for United and even he has been played in many different roles. Assuming he won't have a problem fitting into any role, what about others?
The midfield is one place where individuals can be directly compared because they will face each other, unlike forwards and defenders of opposite sides. Barcelona have the better passing midfielders, they have midfielders who know their forwards and full-backs more than well.
Also, Barcelona's midfield trio is a tested core who have gone up against great players like Modric, Kroos, Banega, Schweinsteiger, Xabi Alonso, Pirlo, among others. At least Rakitic and Busquets have done so together.
Meanwhile United doesn't have the ideal midfield and the best possible one is Fred-Pogba-Matic. Pogba too has been shifting between attacking midfield, no 10 role, central midfield, pivot roles.
Toe to toe on paper and on the pitch, Barcelona's midfield combination is better than Manchester United's midfield. It is evident from their build-up and connection with fullbacks which is not necessarily the case between United's midfielders and fullbacks.
#1 Manchester United's defence is still in a bad shape
If there is one thing that still hasn't changed much from Jose Mourinho to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is their defence. The defence seemed bad under Jose because they were under more pressure because of Jose's defensive dependency. Ole has reduced that immensely but the defence still isn't as good when they are hit with attacks.
They were poor at defending against PSG in the first leg and got exposed from the wings. The same happened a lot in the second leg, the goal came from a cutback too, but luck favoured United on that night.
Mbappe missed a sitter from in front of goal but how did he even get there? Tottenham were beaten by United by a solitary goal but they forced 11 saves from De Gea, each one a direct threat at goal. It could possibly have been a lopsided scoreline if De Gea wasn't there. He won't do that every time.
Barcelona's attack, on the other hand, is the most dangerous one along with Juventus and Manchester City. Leo Messi is always in good form, Luis Suarez is back to his beastly form against Lyon, not in terms of scoring but in terms of creation. Coutinho rose like a phoenix against Lyon, and if that isn't enough you've got Malcom and Dembele.
Unlike United's attackers, Messi and Suarez have a great understanding and they don't need a third person to keep their football flowing. The same thing applies to Coutinho and Suarez. Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto, Nelson Semedo, all expose the wings to the roots while attacking.
Does United's defence really stand a chance against this attack?
