Barcelona news: Catalan giants make history after win at Old Trafford, Lionel Messi had problems with breathing after clash with Chris Smalling and more

Hello and welcome to the daily news round-up for Barcelona. Today's top stories feature Barcelona's historic win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Lionel Messi's injury after the clash against Chris Smalling and more.

Here are the top stories of the day surrounding the Catalan giants!

Barcelona make history

Barcelona secured their first ever win at Old Trafford despite not being at their very best. The Blaugrana managed a 1-0 victory, thanks to Luke Shaw's own goal in the 12th minute, which was confirmed by VAR after initially being ruled out as offside.

United fought back after being a goal down but had zero shots on target throughout the match. The Red Devils came close through Diogo Dalot, who missed an easy header. United failed to build up attacks as a result of poor efficiency in the final third.

Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will take heart from the fact that they overturned a much bigger deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to qualify to the quarter-finals. The Premier League giants will face a mammoth task as the Catalan giants are very difficult to beat at the Camp Nou.

Although Barcelona defeated the Red Devils in 2009 and 2011, they did not manage a win at Old Trafford. The La Liga outfit made history under the tutelage of Ernesto Valverde, who will look to prevent an upset in the second leg.

Messi had breathing problems

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

Smalling and Messi clashed in the first half at Old Trafford and it left the Barcelona captain with a bloody nose. As per reports, Messi had breathing problems after the incident. It has been also claimed that he injured his eyelid which made it difficult for the Argentine to see.

Before the match, Smalling insisted that he is relishing the prospect of facing Messi and said 'bring it on'.

Messi was immediately treated by the medical staff after suffering the blow to his nose and left eyelid before returning to the action on few minutes later.

Ernesto Valverde on Messi and Manchester United

Barcelona boss, Ernesto Valverde, gave his views regarding Messi's injury, stating that he personally thought there was nothing in that clash.

Speaking in the post-match press conference, Valverde said:

“I think there was nothing in it. We will see how Leo is. Smalling bumped into him. The doctors will have a look at him tomorrow.”

The Barcelona boss heaped praise on the Blaugrana players for registering their first win at Old Trafford but admitted that the tie is far from over.

"Given the atmosphere here and the type of team United are it's clear how tough it is to win here.

"The tie is not over but it wouldn't be if it was 2-0, either. We saw what Manchester did in Paris. There's a long way to go. The tie's open.

"Keeping a high level [all season] is complicated, there are always ups and downs, but when the big games come around, the team always responds.

"It was a difficult game. The crowd pushed them on. But then you analyse the match and see that our goalkeeper's not had to make any saves, but there were some difficulties."