Manchester United 0-1 Barcelona: 3 reasons why Barcelona won the match

Manchester United have their work cut out ahead of their trip to the Nou Camp after a Luke Shaw own goal saw Barcelona leave Manchester with a crucial lead. Both sides weren’t at their fluid best but Barca did just enough to complete the job and go back to Spain with a precious result.

United threatened at times but lacked the end product as they failed to muster a single shot on target, something they will need to address quickly if they have any aspirations of repeating their PSG heroics. Meanwhile, the Catalans will be the favorites going into the game and confident of their chances of progressing into the semi-finals of the competition.

For now, let us discuss the three reasons why Barcelona managed to clinch an important win in Manchester:

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#1 Early Pressure and Possession

Old villain Suarez leaves his mark

The initial stages of the game saw Barcelona dominate the ball and Manchester United defended deep and let the Catalans enjoy the major share of possession. As they played a low block it became increasingly difficult for Solskjaer's side to construct any meaningful attack and they looked to play long to Lukaku who was tasked to hold up the ball and bring his strike partner Marcus Rashford or the furthest attacking midfielder Paul Pogba into the game.

This tactic of containing Barca, and then hitting them on the break worked for precisely 11 minutes as Messi and co found a way to score as they always do. Sergio Busquets breached open United’s defence with a lofted diagonal pass that found Messi’s well-timed run who did well to bring it down before picking out Luis Suarez at the backpost with a moment of brilliance.

Suarez headed it towards goal which took a deflection of Luke Shaw to roll into the net. The irony is that United had many bodies in the box but not one was marking Suarez on the backpost.

These defensive errors and a moment of genius by Messi saw Barcelona enjoy an early lead and have cruise control in the game.

#2 Lack of Composure and decisiveness from United in the final third

Ashley Young with another disappointing display

The goal galvanized United and they improved after conceding the opener. The team pressed high and played much higher up the field. Ole's side were braver in possession and took the game to Barca. Chris Smalling in the build-up to the game said “Bring it on” when asked about the daunting task of dealing with Messi.

The center back stayed true to his word and a strong challenge on Messi gave the Argentian a bloodied nose in the first half. This challenge set the tone for the rest of the evening as the catalans couldn’t deal with United’s physical intensity and energy all over the park.

United did their best to create inroads but lacked the cutting edge in the final third. The midfield worked well together as Mctominay and Fred were tenacious, hardworking and did not give the Barca midfielders time and space to operate. Paul Pogba provided the drive and creativity from midfield and fashioned a few openings. The best chance of the first half though fell to Dalot who had a free header in the first half that he put wide. While Marcus Rashford also had a couple of chances he failed to capitalize on them.

Ashley Young had 11 attempted crosses with none meeting their target, which indicates his wastefulness in the final third. Such panic, indecisiveness, and uncertainty meant United couldn’t register a goal at home again after drawing blanks against PSG and Juventus previously in the tournament.

#3 Impressive Pique keeps United at bay

Pique impresses on his return to Old Trafford

One of the main reasons why the Red Devils couldn’t get on the scoresheet was because of the performance of an ex-Red Devil. Gerrard Pique showed his class with an accomplished performance and bailed Barcelona out on many occasions with his brilliant positioning and timely interceptions.

He did well to deal with the physical nature of Lukaku and the lightning-quick pace of Rashford. United pressed Barca high up the pitch and dominated the midfield battle. This period of sustained attack saw Ernesto Valverde send Arturo Vidal on for Philipe Coutinho who had a quiet game apart from the one save he drew from De Gea.

Vidal brought some solidarity in midfield, helped to retrieve the ball and an additional member in the central areas gave them some added control when both Fred and Mctominay were having their finest games in the United shirt.

This was not a vintage Barcelona performance but the visitors were street smart in their approach, professional and will be pleased with an away goal lead to take into the second leg.