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Both Manchester United and Barcelona played league matches on Tuesday, in a night that saw the Red Devils crash to a 2-1 defeat while the Catalan giants registered a 4-4 draw against Villarreal.
United put up a below-par display at Molineux to squander their chances of going up to third place on the Premier League table, putting a dent on their hopes of finishing the season in the top four.
The Red Devils' early lead was negated by a Diogo Jota effort in the first half but it was a Chris Smalling own goal later in the second half that ended the game for the visitors.
Barcelona also squandered a two-goal lead against Villarreal but late goals from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez made sure the league leaders got away with a point.
Messi's free-kick took his goal tally to nine in the last four games for Barcelona, showing once again the phenomenal form he is enjoying this season.
Barca boss Ernesto Valverde was all praise for his side's captain saying,
"Of course there is a Messi dependence, of course, it exists, he is the best in the world."
"But we must know that when he isn't playing, we must play the same way, like in the first half. There was no Messi dependence [in the first half] and the team was fine and [should have been] able to win the match."
He added,
"This game has helped us a lot, especially for the games that are to come. It makes people realise that the league is complicated, the teams are good and they have a spirit to fight."
"They [Villarreal] are a good team and they have troubled us. We must improve so that the opponents do not take us lightly, because we will play against teams that play for the league and the Champions League, and against those teams you cannot do that."
Also see : Gold Cup Standings, Copa America Standings, EPL Transfer News
Manchester United, who have been drawn to face Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final fixture, have now been trolled on Twitter following Messi's masterclass:
