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

#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.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written close to 9000 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Sujith M