Match report: Barcelona 3-0 Man Utd (Agg: 4-0)

A Lionel-Messi inspired Barcelona ended Man Utd's Champions League run at the quarter-final stage as they finished the job in style at the Nou Camp.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have done well to get as far as the last eight, but after the miracle of Paris in the last round, this tie, in truth, proved a step too far for the Reds.

Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, United started brightly but were then undone by Messi's brilliance and the latest in an increasingly long list of howlers from David de Gea.

 Messi put the hosts ahead with a fine curling effort from 20 yards in the 16th minute and four minutes later De Gea let a weaker shot from the edge of the area squirm under his body for the Argentine's second.
Philippe Coutinho added a third for Barca in the 61st minute, curling a stunning effort into the top corner from distance.
United hit the bar inside the first 40 seconds through Marcus Rashford but were dominated after going behind.
Alexis Sanchez's diving header, which was spectacularly saved by Barca goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen in the 90th minute, was as close as the visitors came in the second half.

It was a sobering night for United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer on the ground where he scored his most famous goal, the stoppage-time winner in the 1999 Champions League final.
Barca now meet either Liverpool or Porto in the semi-final, with the Reds taking a 2-0 lead into Wednesday's second leg.

 United were always facing a difficult task as they attempted to overturn a first-leg deficit for the second round in a row.

Just like in the last 16, when we stunned Paris St-Germain at the Parc de Princes, United started the game fast, looked dangerous on the counter-attack and had opportunities - a poor touch from Scott McTominay in the area saw a chance wasted shortly after Rashford's first-minute effort.
That start raised hope of an improbable comeback but Barcelona soon took charge and were awarded a penalty in the 11th minute for Fred's clumsy challenge on Ivan Rakitic in the area only for the decision to overturned after the referee consulted VAR.
United survived that scare but their hopes were effectively ended when they allowed Messi to score twice in four first-half minutes.


The Argentine dazzled for his first goal with a nutmeg of United midfielder Fred and a perfect finish into the bottom corner, but Ashley Young gave the ball away in the left-back position and the visitors' defence backed off rather than attempt to stop the shot.
Then De Gea, so often United's star player, made a huge mistake by allowing Messi's tame shot from 20 yards to slip under his body and in.
Unlike in the first leg, Barcelona looked as though they could could cut their opponents open at will.
Messi was at the centre of that attacking threat with Jordi Alba also marauding forward from left-back and the Barcelona midfield outplaying their United counterparts, both in terms of their control of the ball and pressing to win it back.
No United player made any real impact on a match that proved how great a rebuild is required under Solskjaer if we are to compete with the European elite.

  Overall team performance: 5/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Fred

Match preview: Barcelona v Man Utd (Agg: 1-0)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer returns to the scene of his greatest triumph looking to plot another improbable victory against all odds. Solskjaer is no stranger to unlikely glory in the face of adversity, having scored the most famous goal in our club's history on this very ground 20 years ago next month.

United have not had the luck of the proverbial draw in Europe this season, having already negotiated a tough group section and then climbed Everest without oxygen to get past PSG. United put up a brave fight in the first leg of this quarter-final at Old Trafford, and can count ourselves unlucky not to be going to Catalonia at least on level terms after being the better side for 70 minutes. Having mounted the mother of all comebacks in the French capital in the last round, United will need something special again to repeat that feat against Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona. But a tie is never over at 0-1, and, as fans, we must believe that Solskjaer can squeeze every last drop of this club's never-say-die attitude out of his players in the palatial and grandiose surroundings of the Nou Camp.

By no means is the tie dead. It’s just very unlikely that we’ll see United pull off exactly what they did against Paris Saint-Germain, albeit with a greater deficit after losing the first leg 2-0.
Manager Ole knows all about pulling off miracles at Camp Nou. We, as fans, fondly recall his late winner against Bayern Munich in the same stadium, which saw United crowned European champions in 1999, the treble-winning season.
He will demand similar spirit and courage from his players on Tuesday night — to not give up and to make life difficult for Barcelona. The fact Barcelona weren’t at their best and still won the first leg puts a bit of a downer on this… United were encouraging but lacked a cutting edge in the final third and it felt like a massive opportunity missed.
United will try to keep Barcelona out for as long as they can, but we must take risks and win the game however difficult it may be. Barcelona haven't lost at home in Europe for almost six years, and it just seems too big an ask for this United side.

 Ousmane Dembele started in Barcelona’s 1-1 draw with Huesca on Saturday and is expected to feature on the bench against United. A number of star players were rested for the game, including Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho, Nelson Semedo, Clement Lenglet, Sergio Busquets, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez. For United, Luke Shaw serves the second of a three match ban after his booking in the first leg. That means that Ashley Young will be shoehorned in to the left-back role with Diogo Dalot keeping his place on the right. Alexis Sanchez has been tipped to feature by Solskjaer, who didn’t include the Chilean in his weekend squad. Nemanja Matic has also travelled with the team. Scott McSauce will come back in, with Romelu Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial likely to lead the United line.

Solskjaer says he will not be distracted by nostalgia as he attempts to channel the spirit of 1999:
"I don't think so. I will be so focused, I will be so concentrated. I will have my last little gut feeling on who to play - sometimes you do get those hunches. Against Paris St-Germain I had a team in mind when I travelled in the morning, walked out into the stadium, saw the stadium and thought: 'No, I will change.'
"I can't wait."

A draw would take Barca through to the last four for the first time since 2015. United have not got that far since 2011 when we lost in the final at Wembley against.... yep, you got it. Barcelona.

Form guide: Barcelona W W D W W D Man Utd L L W L L W
Match odds: Barcelona 2/5 Draw 17/4 Man Utd 15/4
Referee: Felix Brych (Germany)

Match report: Man Utd 2-1 West Ham

Man Utd re-ignited hopes of a top four finish after beating West Ham despite an impressive showing from Manuel Pellegrini's out of form Hammers.
After back-to-back defeats, United claimed a vital victory thanks to a pair of Paul Pogba penalties that lifted the Reds up to fifth and clinging to the coat-tails of Tottenham and Chelsea.
With this league encounter sandwiched between the double header of a Champions League quarter final with Barcelona, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made five changes to his line-up, having to contend with the suspension of regular full-backs Ashley Young and Luke Shaw. That led to very much a makeshift line up and it showed, with United given an almighty scare by the visitors, who remain very much in the running for seventh place.

That meant a first start in four months for Marcos Rojo and Diogo Dalot reverted to a more familiar right-back role after moonlighting as a left wing-back for the visit of Barcelona in midweek. Dalot was involved in the game's first major moment, which proved a contentious one after nine minutes. West Ham should have taken the lead when Felipe Anderson volleyed in, only to be flagged offside. Replays showed that Dalot had played the Brazilian onside and United had got away with one.
Then Graham Scott awared a penalty when Robert Snodgrass raced back to thwart an attack but he did not play the ball as he challenged Juan Mata. Contact looked minimal but Pogba took advantage and rifled the resultant spot-kick beyond Lukasz Fabianski in the 19th minute.
Former Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini's men would not lie down, though, and deservedly hit back after the interval. Anderson was impressive throughout -  as he has been all season - and capitalised on a mistake from David de Gea and Rojo as he swept the ball in to level shortly after the restart.

Chris Smalling headed over the bar and the introduction of Marcus Rashford belatedly sparked United into life. The sub's arrival almost paid instant dividends as Smalling burst out of defence and found the striker with his pass. Rashford thumped in an effort that Fabianski could only parry, and the loose ball agonisingly squirmed away from an onrushing posse of players.
Rashford went close again with a header, but the initial United spark petered out and West Ham continued to look a threat. Substitute Michail Antonio had United - and the crossbar - rattled with a 20 yarder and then his header needed a brilliant reaction stop from David de Gea to prevent the Hammers from taking a lead.

There was little doubt around the foul for United's second penalty, when Martial got in behind the defence and Fredericks brought him down when making a last-ditch attempt to deny the Frenchman a shot.
Fabianski vs Pogba part two ended with the same result as  Pogba smashed in from 12 yards ten minutes from time as the Reds held on for a vital win.

 The win sees United climb to fifth, two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea who play Liverpool on Sunday, while West Ham stay 11th.

Overall team performance: 5/10
United Faithful Man of the Match: Paul Pogba

Match preview: Man Utd v West Ham

Man Utd's recent stumbles sees Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side in sixth place and in vital need of points to get our Champions League challenge back on track ahead of the visit of the Hammers. United have lost four out of the last five as we prepare to welcome former City manager Manuel Pellegrini and his West Ham team to Old Trafford in the tea-time kick off.
The Hammers enjoyed a 3-1 win over the Reds in east London back in September but their challenge has since faded and they've slipped to eleventh having lost four of the last six in the league. Despite this indifferent run, Pellegrini's Hammers are only five points off seventh-placed Wolves in the congested battle to become the Premier League's "best of the rest."

Solskjaer will be forced into several changes, notably at full-back with both Ashley Young and Luke Shaw suspended, with the latter to also miss the return fixture at the Nou Camp and next weekend's tie at Everton. Diogo Dalot will return to his more natural position on the right, with forgotten man Marcos Rojo set to make his first Reds appearance in four months at left-back. I can confirm that the Argentinian drug lord is alive and well! Rojo will vie with fellow outcast Matteo Darmian to get the nod although both seem certain to leave Old Trafford in the summer.

Ander Herrera, Eric Bailly, Alexis Sanchez and Antonio Valencia remain sidelined by injuries with Nemanja Matic doubtful through illness. The visitors are beset by a plethora of injury problems with seven players on the treatment table. Michail Antonio will return, but Samir Nasri (calf) is out. Jack Wilshere and Carles Sanchez are nearing returns whilst Andriy Yarmolenko and Winston Reid are both long term absentees.

We have a very strong record at Old Trafford against West Ham, with the Reds only losing at home twice to the Hammers in the Premier League era. It has been a fixture that usually provides goals for United, with 12 of our 18 wins over the Hammers at home being by two goals or more. The highest-scoring victory was in April 2000, where we eased past the London outfit in a 7-1 victory. Our most recent encounter at the Theatre of Dreams was 18 months ago - and that too proved to be a goal glut. Romelu Lukaku dazzled in his first league appearance for the Reds as the Belgian scored a brace, along with late strikes from our French duo Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, in a 4-0 win to get the 2017/18 campaign off to a flyer.

Solskjaer admitted that United are still pushing for third place, and said: "We need as many points as possible and I think if we get 15 we'll be top three, because in those games hopefully we'll beat Chelsea.
"But now it's about West Ham and focusing on a good performance to give us three points.
"We want top three. Top four is also an aim if we don't get 15 points but we should aim for 15. That's our target."

All eyes will be on 20-year-old United summer target Declan Rice. Having risen through the ranks of West Ham's revered youth Academy, Rice received his first England call up last month and has been touted as a potential replacement for Herrera in our midfield.

Form guide: Man Utd W L L W L L West Ham L W L W L L
Match odds: Man Utd 2/5 Draw 7/1 West Ham 4/1
Referee: Graham Scott takes charge of United for the first time this season

Likely Man Utd XI: De Gea; Dalot, Smalling, Lindelof, Rojo; Fred, Pogba, McTominay; Lingard, Lukaku, Martial
Likely West Ham XI: Fabianski; Fredericks, Balbuena, Diop, Cresswell; Rice, Noble; Antonio, Obiang, Felipe Anderson; Arnautovic.

Man Utd have made a massive mistake in letting Ander Herrera leave

Just when you thought that Manchester United's board couldn't get anything else wrong, up popped the great contract debacle of 2019.
United is a commercial cash cow and the Florida based Glazer family are going to do their utmost to milk it dry. Ed Woodward, somehow the man placed at the forefront of all football operations despite not having an ounce of knowledge in his body, carries the can of his bosses as the penny-pinching puppet of their reign of terror. I thought those in the corridors of power would have to go some to eclipse the shambles of last summer, but congratulations, they just have. And then some.

Many would argue that the club's stakeholders have got this one right - that Ander Herrera is never a 200k-a-week player and its the right decision to move him on when a cheaper, better and longer term replacement can be found elsewhere. Or even, after Lord Scott of McSauce's totemic man of the match showing against the mighty Barcelona, from one of our own. Its true that McTominay's coming of age makes the Herrera situation slight more palatable but you feel that he's not the long term answer and doesn't offer what Herrera can.
But even if you agree with that notion, the board are still accountable whichever way you look at it. The only reason Herrera believes he's entitled to those kind of riches in the first place is because of our warped wage structure bought about by Alexis Sanchez... and whose fault is that. Sanchez did not choose to be placed on a pedestal that saw the Chilean Nathan Redmond become the Premier League's highest earner. Even if the actual signing of Sanchez made a modicum of sense at the time, he upset the applecart and left the entire wage bill lopsided. Now his team-mates are wanting similar rewards for fruits of their labour that amount to far less.

 Herrera's contract should never have been allowed to run down to the point where he's asking for the £200,000 a week. It's criminal. United's lack of leaders has been just one of the reasons why we've fallen short - Herrera is one of the few, would die for the badge and speaks with a passion and love for Manchester United so rare in a foreign export. Barring a late intervention, the 29-year-old will leave United for PSG after five years at Old Trafford. Just give him the money, sort his future and get on with things.
 Admittedly he's not the most brilliantly skilful player, but I'd rather have him in my team than come up against him. At his belligerent and bullying best, Herrera has fire racing through his veins, he's an uncomprising expert of the "needle" and runs his heart out. Everyone needs a player like him in their side, and to let him leave for nothing is scandalous. It looks a huge mistake and one that I hope United do not regret.
It's made worse by the fact that the board think nothing of giving the chuckle brothers Chris Smalling and Phil Jones new long term contracts worth 180 and 150,000 per week respectively yet they won't pay the extra few thousand to keep a key man. The very definition of muddled thinking. Smalling and Jones should be two of the first players out the Old Trafford door but instead the board will spend another summer treading water and skimping the pennies in pursuit of a substandard replacement for a player who's risen from outcast to indispensable. It's an avoidable situation that a competent hierarchy would have dealt with far more efficiently and cannily.

United down but certainly not out heading to the Nou Camp

Manchester United will need another unlikely Houdini act of escapology in the Champions League quarter finals. A fortuitous Luke Shaw own goal proved only the wafer-thin difference between Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and the heavyweight giants of Barcelona at Old Trafford. It was a better outcome than we could have hoped when Ernesto Valverde's side took a 12th minute lead they were never to relinquish.
Scratchy, ill disciplined and careless throughout, one thing is certain - Barcelona will not be this poor again in the return fixture at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
 The Catalans are unbeaten at home in the competition for six years and - after the miracle of Paris - surely lightning cannot realistically strike twice. Even for a club that exists on making the Impossible possible. Never count us out, after all we are Manchester United and a tie is never over at 0-1, but the odds will be stacked  against us. But then, the Reds often produce their best with backs stacked firmly against the wall. Chances will be talked up and spirits and omens summoned from far and wide, but logic and realism dictates that there is to be no escape this time. But Solskjaer and the players must believe, stranger things have happened and - with Barca having suffered three successive quarter final defeats - there could be some questions about their mentality. Knocking out the 5/2 favourites for the cup with the big ears on their own ground would be a better achievement than sending packing a flawed PSG side with a history of falling short.

 As United return to a ground forever synonymous with our greatest miracle of all 20 years on, we will need an arguably even bigger one here. It is a romantic narrative but Barcelona deal in reality. With United 1-0 down, it would be truly astonishing if our team came through next Tuesday's quarter-final second leg to reach the last four where, in all likelihood, Liverpool would await. But, simply by getting this far, we've confounded all expectations and I was immensely proud of United's courage, spirit and sheer willpower against a Barcelona side that, on paper and in reality, are streets ahead. It says it all when the over-riding feeling is one of an opportunity missed rather than any tangible angst or fear. You're never going to get a bucketload of chances against opposition of this calibre, but you have to make the most of what you can get and that's what cost us.

Lionel Messi was relatively quiet, some of Barca's passing was strangely lacklustre and yet the suspicion remains that this was Barcelona playing within themselves, while United mustered the best we could.
Several of our players played above their ability and, on a night when a cool head was needed, Sir Scott of McSauce was top class as he eclipsed his £89m team mate Paul Pogba, dominated his illustrious opposite numbers and never looked out of place. So much so that along with Barcelona's Gerard Pique, he was the best player on the pitch. The fact that centre-back Pique was the visitors standout star tells you everything you need to know.

£52m man Fred finally came to the party with his best game by far in a United shirt, and caught the eye with his passing range, work rate, industry and an excellent all round showing both defensively and in attack. Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling impressed and Mr Consistent Luke Shaw did well again.

The players must overturn form, logic and the history books in the Nou Camp. United may have done it once - it is very hard but certainly not impossible to see them doing it again.

Scott McTominay comes of age for Manchester United

Much like Marouane Fellaini was synonymous with David Moyes reign of Old Trafford terror, Scott McTominay had become guilty by association. Jose Mourinho adored him so much that he told the the others to follow McTominay's lead, and the Portuguese even made up an end of season award for him.
When Mourinho left United in December, many assumed that McTominay would follow, somewhere to the lower echelons of the Championship or League One. There had been fleeting glimpses of the player's ability but nothing to suggest the hype placed around him was justified. It held sway that he simply did not seem cut out for the job of being a key man in the Man Utd midfield.

 There were even unfair and unkind suggestions that his sudden rise to prominence at Old Trafford had been purely down to the bitter rift that had developed between egotistical manager Mourinho and his precocious record signing Paul Pogba. Mourinho liked him because he was tall, rangy, could tackle and wasn't Pogba. Given his poor record in the promotion of youth talents, that ticked another box for Mourinho too.

As new boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer brought fresh ideas and a new identikit to United, McTominay seemingly had no future. Solskjaer settled for a midfield status quo of Messrs Pogba, Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera with McTominay forced to the fringes. But as an injury crisis took hold, McTominay has only grown and come of age as a United player before our very eyes.

The 22-year-old only got the nod to play in the second leg of the Champions League last 16 tie in Paris because his caretaker manager Solskjaer was without no fewer than 10 players, including his entire midfield, due to illness, injury and suspension. However, the Lancashire-born and raised Scot more than justified his selection; he was one of the Norwegian’s standout performers on that extraordinary, never to be forgotten, night in the Parc des Princes. Against a midfield containing Marquinhos and Marco Verratti, McTominay was the best player on the pitch in the holding role, protecting the back four, breaking up play and starting attacks with temerity, courage and tenacious willpower. As the level in quality of opposition ratcheted up another notch on Wednesday, so did McTominay's performance.

Serial winners Ivan Rakitic and Sergio Busquets, two metronomic masters of their trade who have been there done it and won everything there is to win, were hassled and harried into submission by McSauce. As United dominated midfield and took control of the game, McTominay was the best player on the pitch. Many men greater in stature than him have baulked under the controlling influence of Barca's two pass masters, but the Scot was instead inspired. There were many positives for Solskjaer and United to take from the tie, and McTominay was undoubtedly the biggest one.  It was reminiscent of the night a 19-year-old Jack Wilshere went toe-to-toe for Arsenal with the Barcelona of Xavi, Iniesta and Guardiola et al in 2011. Surrounded by a galaxy of stars and the man from another planet entirely, McTominay was top class.

United may feel less aggrieved about losing Ander Herrera to Paris St-Germain this summer after watching an immense showing from McSauce, a performance that belied his tender years. Perhaps the Basque's natural engine room successor has been found from within. He was United's best performer and this was confirmation, if it were needed given how highly he is rated inside Old Trafford, that he can be trusted in high-pressure situations and in the most illustrious of company.

McTominay’s performance on that historic night in the city of love last month had clearly done wonders for his confidence, as did a similarly assured display in the goalless draw at home to Liverpool, when Solskjaer likened him to Fletcher. This is an inexperienced United team, certainly in European terms, and it really shows at times, but they have to gain that experience somewhere and McTominay, for one, will be a richer player for this.