Champions League, Manchester United 0-1 Barcelona: 5 errors from United that cost them the game

Manchester United welcomed Barcelona to Old Trafford on Wednesday for the clash of the titans in the UEFA Champions League. It was a tie that heavily favored the Catalans. To make matters worse, they had the best player in the world in their ranks and Lionel Messi was in scintillating form this season as well. The Argentinean relishes playing against English opposition and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knew that he had very little room for error on the night.

The Norwegian started with De Gea at goal, with Ashley Young, Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw, and Diego Dalot making up the back five. The new look midfield consisted of Scott McTominay and Fred alongside Paul Pogba, while Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku formed a two-man attack.

Barcelona piled the pressure on United right from kick-off and got their reward when Suarez scored the opening goal in the 12th minute, thanks to his header deflecting in off Shaw. United toiled through the first half but failed to find the equalizer.

In the second half, both teams had chances to score and United improved their efforts, yet failed to scored. The game ended 1-0 in the favor of Barcelona and Solskjaer is once again left with a herculean task in the second leg.

Barcelona were the better side of the night, but United were the architects of their own destruction. Here, we look at the 5 errors from the Red Devils that cost them the game.

#5 Team Selection and shape

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

Solskjaer opted for a back five, as he has done on quite a few occasions this season. However, what made things interesting was that he opted to put Shaw as a center back and Dalot as a left back. The motive behind this move was clear; the United manager wanted more security against the movement of Messi. However, it was a ploy that took too much away from United in the final third.

Because of the extra man at the back, United had to opt for a two-man frontline of Lukaku and Rashford, and the Barcelona defense was hardly put under any pressure in the first half. Despite the extra man at the back, Fred and McTominay were still busy shielding the defense. It cost United their natural game and resulted in a toothless attack.

#4 Lack of Pressing

Against a Barcelona team who are so good on the ball, United needed to work extra hard to win the ball back. The Catalans have ball playing men all around the pitch and these players are very good in tight places. They rarely misplace the ball and are always assured in their passing. In order to break such a set up, it is important to press high.

Solskjaer set his team out to put pressure on the away side and United did just that in the opening stages. Fred and McTominay were particularly impressive with their movement and closing down of opposition players. Everytime United pressed, Barcelona looked unsettled. Unfortunately, the home side could not keep up the momentum and the Catalans took advantage of their sloppiness in the first half.

In the second half though, United improved and pressed with intent. However, it was sporadic and thus failed to have the desired effect. With no pressure, Barcelona continued with their natural game and ran away with a win.

#3 Negligible wing play

Solskjaer had the backbone ready to unsettle the Barcelona side. He had even set his team out accordingly. With two wingbacks, both of whom are known to be good crossers of the ball, and a strong, physical center forward in the middle, United had the ingredients to trouble Barcelona's center back pairing of Pique and Lenglet. Unfortunately, on the pitch, the scene was entirely different.

Ashley Young was perhaps the worst performing player on the pitch. His passing and crosses were dismal. There were quite a few occasions when United broke away with speed and power, only for a hapless final ball from the right wing-back. On the other hand, Dalot rarely had any effect on the left side. He hardly sent in any crosses and failed to influence the game.

Lukaku can be held guilty of going missing on the night, but in truth, the Belgian did not have any service or crosses to feed on from the wide players.

#2 Missed Chances

United had 10 shots on the night and none of them were on target. It is hard to believe that at home, with the entire Old Trafford crowd backing them up, Manchester United failed to test Ter Stegen even once.

Marcus Rashford was guilty of being too ambitious and a tad selfish at times. He had a couple of good chances to at least hit the target but failed miserably. His free kicks were a waste and it was sad for United fans to see that United had at least three free kicks from good positions, but could not even force a save!

Romelu Lukaku did not have a single shot on target and was correctly offloaded in the second half for Martial. The Frenchman looked lively but it was a case of too little too late. Beside, Martial failed to work the Barcelona keeper too.

Much of United's woes have been due to their lack of composure in front of goal. While there's a room for improvement, against teams like Barcelona, if you fail to take your chances, you usually end up on the losing side. And United's finishing cost them the game.

#1 Poor performances from multiple players

A lot of players were extremely poor on the night. Paul Pogba had few moments of quality but failed to assert his influence on the game. He was partnered with two hard-working players in Fred and McTominay, both of whom worked extremely hard and sweated it out on the pitch. However, Pogba was hardly the player that United needed on the night. Sadly, he was not the only one.

Marcus Rashford was poor with his running and finishing and should have scored a goal. Romelu Lukaku had a rare chance to impress through the middle. The Old Trafford faithful wanted him to torment Clement Lenglet, but that never happened. But the biggest culprit of the night was United's skipper, Ashley Young.

Solskjaer's decision to use Young as a wing back instead of Dalot backfired. The Englishman was extremely poor going forward. He was guilty of indecision and his lack of precision cost United on counter attacks multiple times. Young was ineffective in his defensive duties too and he was one of the players whose poor performances cost United the game

Edited by Aayush Kataria