Champions League, Barcelona 3-0 Manchester United: 3 things we learned from the match

#3 Barcelona dominated the midfield battle

Philippe Coutinho scored a goal against his old rivals

Barcelona’s possession-based passing game was too good for United, as the latter struggled to hold their own in the midfield. United played two defensive midfielders in the shape of Fred and McTominay, and were solely dependent on Pogba for creating moves.

While Pogba tried his best, it was not enough to trouble the likes of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and Arthur Melo. Coutinho notched up his 11th goal of the season and had a really good match.

Barcelona kept dictating terms in the midfield, and all United could do in reply was to play some square passes inside their own half. Jordi Alba was brilliant again and a lot of their attacks originated through him. United struggled to get the ball, as Barca had almost 65% possession in the first half.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been doing a good job for United, but watched helplessly as a much superior Barca side knocked his team out of the competition.