Barcelona never got out of second gear in their narrow 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League quarter final first leg match staged at Old Trafford. Luke Shaw diverted Luis Suarez’s header from a Messi cross into his own net for the all-important goal of the game, here are the 3 main talking points from the match.
Ashley Young is done!
Manchester United captain for the night, Ashley Young was easily the worst player on the pitch. His decision making was poor, he got into reckless tackles that could have cost his team while the less said about his crossing the better!
Based on his last performance in the Premier League when he got sent off at Wolves and his showing against Barcelona, it is clear Young is out of his depth and cannot handle the pressure that comes with playing for a top-level club like Manchester United. He needs to go!
Barcelona are still not there yet
Despite the narrow win and the lack of any real danger form the opposition, Barcelona’s display on the night was not as convincing as many would have thought. Sure, they did get the away goal they craved but based on the team that Manchester United put out, Barcelona should have scored a few more goals.
Lionel Messi never quite got going bar a few sprints early on in the game one which resulted in the goal and he will have to do a bit more in the second leg and indeed in the latter stages for Barcelona to win their first Champions League trophy since 2015.
Manchester United can still advance
The Red Devils have been here before, in fact, it was only last month when they overturned a 2-0 first leg home loss against PSG to win 3-1 in the second leg and advance to the quarterfinals.
Despite having no shots on target against Barcelona, there was enough evidence on
All they have to do is get the first goal and Barcelona will be rattled. In football, it is never over until the final whistle blows, especially when facing a team as good as Manchester United. Just ask PSG!