Old Trafford was not like Stamford Bridge. A saving goal did not appear. It could have been a Ferran Torres cross from the baseline in the 93rd minute. But Ansu Fati jumped, touched the ball, was unable to direct the shot and instead deprived Lewandowski, who was entering from behind, of hitting his head. Instead, the Manchester United wingers were unforgiving in the second half. The bands were the difference.
The Ten Hag relays were a success. At the break he brought on Antony on the right. Right after De Gea’s great save in Koundé, the Dutch coach put Garnacho in the fray. A Brazilian and an Argentine. A signing of 100 million and a youth player who arrived from Atlético at the age of 16. It was his way of pressing the accelerator, of putting up another gear. And Barcelona lacked the turbo.
If there is a stadium that knows extremes, that is Old Trafford, a field that saw George Best play on its wings. “If football is an art, then I am an artist,” said the Northern Irish striker, also known as the fifth Beatle. No one, since Cristiano’s departure, has inherited his number 7. But there are many applicants.
The first a Rashford who played at the Camp Nou as a center forward but who started yesterday on the left wing, his preferred position to enter. The Englishman thus avoided Araújo, Barcelona’s most powerful defender, who was still able to stop him in several runs. Araújo multiplied in assists and coverage, with three wins, an aerial ball won, two clearances and two tackles, but in his 100th game the Uruguayan central defender ended up being replaced due to some discomfort.
Rashford was 9 when United put in pure wingers to overcome the result. As soon as he started, Antony did a great sprint with Christensen and almost scored. Busquets had to grab Garnacho’s partner by the neck so that he would not leave due to speed. The slogan was to look for them quickly so that the Barcelona defense suffered in transitions.
The contrast was evident with Raphinha, who was returning to England – he had already marked United with Leeds – but hardly created any danger on the right. Two shots went wide, none of his three crosses found a finisher, only once of the four he faced was he able to dribble and lost 16 balls. Dembélé’s shadow appeared in a big game in which Barça lacked his best winger. The red devils recovered Antony with respect to the first leg. Xavi already knew that he could not count on Dembélé, injured since January 28. The wait will be long.
“The future was the repetition of the past”, wrote Elena Garro. The phrase of the Mexican writer serves to explain the unease of Barcelona, ??which continues to experience early eliminations in Europe. In the Champions League, the starting central defenders were missed, in the Europa League the wingers did not respond.