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

#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.