Champions League, Manchester United 0-1 Barcelona: 5 Men who won the game for Barcelona

Manchester United and Barcelona played out an entertaining encounter in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. The game was billed to be the pick of the four ties, but in truth, the teams were enduring contrasting fortunes this season. While Barcelona were firing on all cylinders, United were only recovering under Solskjaer and the journey for the Red Devils had just begun.

Despite the difference in quality between the two sides, Valverde showed a lot of respect for his opponents and named a strong side for the game. Ter Stegen started in goal, with Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, and Alba making up the back four. Rakitic and Arthur joined Busquets in the midfield, while Coutinho, Messi, and Suarez made up the front three.

The game was an end to end affair which probably deserved a lot more goals. However, Barcelona scored the only goal of the game. It was initially ruled out for offside until VAR intervened and gave Barcelona their deserved lead.

It was a win that Barcelona had to toil to achieve, especially since United gave them a lot of problems in the second half. But Valverde had these 5 men to thank, who were brilliant for Barcelona and won them the game.

#5 Arthur Melo

FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - Copa del Rey Semi Final

The Brazilian carried on his usual game at Old Trafford with the same poise and ease that he has shown the entire season. Usually, Arthur is always put under pressure by the opposition, to deny him any chance to assert his influence on the game. Against United though, the Brazilian was allocated a lot of space and time to dictate the proceedings.

At the start of the game, Arthur faced quite a lot of pressure from Fred and McTominay. However, as the game wore on, United lost their tempo and the Brazilian was allowed to spray passes at will. His kept the ball moving, shielded his defense well and also initiated counter attacks on the blink of an eye. He successfully switched play between the flanks and helped Barcelona stay in control of the midfield.

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#4 Nelson Semedo

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

The right-back was selected ahead of Sergio Roberto on a night when Barcelona needed a strong performance from the wings. And the Portuguese was extremely impressive on the night for his team. In fact, such was his effect that United failed to find any joy through their stronger left side.

Semedo did not just defend, he frequently bombed forward and helped Barcelona pile the pressure on United. Solskjaer has opted for Dalot at left back, hoping that the Portuguese would give United an extra edge going forward. However, it was actually Dalot’s countryman who won the battle on that side.

The Barcelona right back’s ambition kept Dalot pinned back. Semedo played very high up on the pitch and looked a threat every time he went forward. He was lively on the pitch and invited tackles and won freekicks. His performance helped Barcelona ensure that United never got back into the game.

#3 Luis Suarez

The Uruguayan was a nuisance on the pitch and continuously created trouble for the United back four with his movement and runs. Suarez was booed by the Old Trafford crowd every time he touched the ball. The Uruguayan was a former Liverpool player and even served a lengthy ban for his racist comments towards Evra. Old Trafford did not miss any opportunity to remind him that they hated him.

Despite the continued booing, Suarez went about his business like a true professional. He took up great positions, made clever little runs and also was impressive with his back to the goal. The Uruguayan even teed up Coutinho to have a go at De Gea on a couple of occasions, but the Brazilian failed to impress.

But it was in the 12th minute that Suarez did all the damage. As Messi broke away from the United defense and received the ball, Suarez took up a clever position at the far post. He knew that his skipper would find him and that was exactly what Messi did. The Uruguayan’s header deflected off Shaw into the goal and gave Barcelona the all-important goal.

#2 Lionel Messi

When the greatest player in the world comes to town, it is only fair that the home team opts for all the safety measure known to man. Solskjaer went for a back 5, with Shaw as a third centerback, so that the English youngster could use his speed to keep track of Messi. Shaw got a card for his troubles and is out of the second leg. Messi, on the other hand, forced the most influential moment of the game.

Marked and constantly denied any room near the opposition box, Messi drifted deeper and sent in beautiful balls to his front men. However, in the 12th minute, the Argentinean fooled everyone in the United defense with a clever run that sent him free in the box. Busquets found his captain with a lofted ball and Messi had the presence of mind to find Suarez with acres of space in the far post. The Uruguayan’s header was deflected in by Shaw.

The Argentinean was not allowed to do too much after that, however, whenever he had the ball, he terrified the United back four. Messi even got a whack to his nose from Smalling for his troubles and was the quiet architect who won Barcelona the game. Not anywhere close to his best performance this season.

#1 Gerard Pique

The Spaniard was back at the arena where he spent some time as a youngster. Much of Pique, the player, was shaped at Old Trafford where he had joined as a 17-year-old teenager and had left as a man. On his return, the Spaniard showed signs that would have made his mentor, watching from the stands, proud.

Pique was the rock at the heart of the defense for this Barcelona team who kept going at United on every invitation. Semedo and Alba bombed forward, the midfielders stationed themselves a little higher and Barcelona tried very hard to open United up. It left the Catalans a bit short at the back, but every time United charged forward, they were met with a defiant Pique.

The Spaniard covered very well for the marauding Semedo, matching pace with Dalot and even Rashford on quite a few occasions. On the times that United tried to find a way through the middle, Pique ensured that there was no space available. His tackles were spot on and he did not put a foot wrong in the whole game.