Barcelona 3-0 Manchester United: 5 Men who cost United the game

Modified Jun 07, 2019 07:16 GMT

Are you not entertained? - Ashley Young was poor once again on the night

#1 Ashley Young

Manchester United v FC Barcelona - UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: First Leg

Ashley Young’s selection is an enigma, given how poor the Englishman has been for United on a regular basis this season. Young was a disappointment in the first leg as well, but Solskjaer still opted to keep him in the first eleven. A reason for that could have been Luke Shaw’s absence and the fact that Dalot had failed to impress from the left side in the home leg.

Nevertheless, Young started from the left, with the captain’s armband, but had a night to forget. He rarely joined Martial in attack, perhaps wary of Lionel Messi giving him the slip in the counter. This affected United’s gameplay, as Martial was isolated in the left. However, the United skipper was disappointing with his defensive responsibilities too.

Young was directly culpable for the first goal, when he lost the ball at a dangerous position and of all people, to Lionel Messi. The Argentinean accepted it with open arms and then Young resorted to a poor attempt at winning the ball back. Messi brushed his tackle aside and went on to score the opening goal.

Young failed as a Skipper on the field and as a left back too and cost United the game.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Sujith M