UEFA Champions League 2018/19: Manchester United 0-1 FC Barcelona - 5 Hits and Flops 

Barcelona secured a slender advantage over Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford in the first leg clash on Wednesday.

The visitors were far from convincing on the night, but eventually managed to dig deep and grind out an invaluable result in what worked out as a rather underwhelming encounter under the lights at the Theater of Dreams.

Ernesto Valverde's men dominated the lion's share of possession like we have come to expect of them, and the Red Devils were tasked with the role of nullifying their counterparts in a bid to try and catch them on the break.

However, both teams struggled to find the X-factor inside the final third, as they were severely devoid of quality that would give them a hugely significant advantage over the other in the tie.

An own goal from Luke Shaw, that came as early as the 12th minute, proved to be the difference between the sides in the end, as Barcelona hold a slight advantage over their opponents ahead of the return leg at the Nou Camp next week.

Without further delay, let's take a closer look at some of the best and worst performers from the cagey affair between the sides at Old Trafford:

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#5 Hit - Lionel Messi

Messi grabbed the assist for the only goal of the game

Lionel Messi was nowhere near his imperious best during the defeat of Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were well aware of the magnitude of their task on the night, and offered very little comfort to Messi over the course of the entirety of the game.

Despite all that, Messi still managed to leave his mark on the game by playing an integral role during the build-up to the only goal of the game that came in the 12th minute in Manchester.

The Blaugrana skipper made a driving run into the penalty area to latch on to a superb lob pass from Sergio Busquets, before finding Luis Suarez at the far corner with an accurate cross across the goal.

The Uruguayan made no mistake in guiding the ball into the back of the net with a calm header,which took a slight touch from Luke Shaw before creeping past David de Gea.

Messi had to endure a bloodied nose after a stern challenge from behind by Chris Smalling, but he continued to carry on with the hopes of opening up a bigger advantage over the hosts.

Although he failed to make any breakthrough contributions since then, he was floating around inside the final third and even sprayed a few good passes to his team-mates, who were unable to make full use of them, in a collectively lacklustre display in attack for Barcelona.

#4 Flop - Marcus Rashford

Rashford struggled to make an impact against Barcelona

The onus was well and truly on Marcus Rashford to trouble Barcelona with his pace and trickery on Wednesday, but the forward did not give a good account of himself at Old Trafford.

The 21-year-old sealed Manchester United's progression to the quarter-finals with a level-headed penalty in stoppage time against Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, and more was expected of him against the Catalan giants.

However, Rashford lacked his usual flair and clinical nature in front of goal to hardly trouble the visitors in what worked out as a largely insipid display at home for the Red Devils, yet again.

Despite providing the cross that produced his team's best chance on the night, when Diogo Dalot planted a free header agonisingly wide, Rashford was far from his usual self and struggled to make an impact against Barcelona.

Furthermore, Rashford failed to make the most of a direct free-kick from a good position as he blasted the ball way over the crossbar and did very little to offer some hope to the hosts, who did not register a single shot on target during the game.

#3 Hit - Fred

Fred was Manchester United's best player on the night

Ever since making the switch to Old Trafford from Shakhtar Donetsk in a hefty deal last summer, Fred has struggled to live up to the expectations consistently.

The Brazilian has come in for criticism in the past for being flat and ineffective while defending, but retained his place in the starting eleven for the quarter-finals after his impressive display against Paris Saint-Germain in the return leg last month.

And during the defeat to Barcelona on Wednesday, Fred stood tall in midfield and ensured he limited the influence of the likes of Arthur and Ivan Rakitic on the ball. The midfielder covered plenty of ground for the Red Devils, and ensured he was always alert to mop up the danger whenever it threatened to break out.

Fred held the midfield triumvirate of Manchester United together as he worked tirelessly and efficiently to make his presence felt ahead of the likes of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.

In addition to his excellent reading of the game and tenacious defending, Fred was also one of Manchester United's most creative players after constantly looking up to try and feed his team-mates in promising areas of the pitch.

The midfielder produced a defence-splitting pass during Manchester United's dominant spell after the half time interval, but Marcus Rashford failed to tuck it away after miscontrolling the ball.

#2 Flop - Philippe Coutinho

Coutinho did not enjoy his return to England

Philippe Coutinho has endured a difficult spell in Spain with Barcelona since the turn of the year after scoring just once in 14 league games during that time.

The club-record signing from Liverpool was expected to make his presence felt in his first full season with Barcelona this term, but has somehow slipped under the radar.

Prior to his return to England for the first leg against Manchester United, there had been rumours linking Coutinho with a move back to the Premier League and although he was preferred in the playing eleven, he failed to make the most of the chance at Old Trafford.

Coutinho was cut a frustrated figure down the flank for Barcelona during the majority of his involvement and could not punish a slow and ageing Ashley Young down the wide areas, where he has proved his mettle in the past for the club.

The Brazilian looked like a shadow of the player who impressed against Tottenham Hotspur on his last visit to England during the group stages earlier this season, and failed to beat David de Gea when presented with an opportunity, after Luis Suarez took advantage of a mix-up between Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof.

Coutinho was eventually replaced just after the hour mark as Barcelona prepared to nullify the pressure from Manchester United in the second half, by introducing Arturo Vidal.

#1 Hit - Gerard Pique

Pique was sensational at the back for Barcelona

Although Barcelona dominated possession for the majority of the game and got over the line with a win in the end, they were put under stern pressure during certain spells in the game.

Manchester United came out flying in the second half and pushed until the very end to try and salvage something ahead of the return leg in Spain next week.

However, they were unsuccessful and a large part of the credit, if not all, has to go to Gerard Pique for his composure at the back even when his team were put under pressure from the hosts.

The Spaniard, who was on the books at Old Trafford before establishing himself at Barcelona, reveled on his return to Manchester, and stood tall to ensure that Barcelona came out unscathed in the end.

Ernesto Valverde's men were made to grind out a result in the end and Pique was streetsmart in his approach to help the Catalans secure a vital result under difficult circumstances away from home.

Although Clement Lenglet looked a bit rattled on a number of instances, Pique was always ready to step in and provide comfort to his partner at the heart of the visitors' defence and played the ball out from the back with his confidence.

The defender probably made his biggest contribution on the night when he produced a last-ditch block to stop Anthony Martial going one on one with Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, after a rampaging run from the forward.