Manchester United welcome Barcelona for the first-leg of the glamour tie of the Champions League’s quarter-final on Wednesday night.
After their heroics in the last 16 as Paris Saint-Germain were conquered, an event more mammoth test awaits the Red Devils as Lionel Messi looks to weave his magic wand over Manchester and conjure a route to the last four.
Ahead of the last eight’s opening stanza, we look forward to a mouthwatering tie.
BARCA NOT UNBEATABLE
Barcelona are brilliant, bit not unbeatable.
Barcelona are brilliant. But they’re also not unbeatable. As good as they’ve been in recent seasons – and there’s always the Messi factor – they have showed a soft underbelly on more than one occasion.
They’re arguably the best team left in the competition – even on the planet. But their dominance domestically this season is tempered significantly by the strength – or lack thereof – of their rivals.
Real Madrid resemble a gelded stallion while city rivals Atletico are a little limited and too rigid in their reliance on being a tough team to break down rather than being a rampant attacking force.
The Blaugrana haven’t been beyond this stage of the Champions League since they last won it in 2014/15. In defence of their trophy a year later they were beaten 3-2 by Atletico who went on to meet Real in the final. Two years ago they were humbled 3-0 by Juventus. Twelve months ago they surrendered a commanding 4-1 first-leg lead to lose 3-0 in Rome.
Considering who they are and the strength of their opponents, it was arguably more embarrassing than their own stunning 6-5 triumph against PSG in the last 16 the previous year.
As good as they are in an attacking sense, there’s also more than a suspicion that you can get at them at the back. Gerard Pique remains a colossus and has formed a solid partnership with Clement Lenglet. But, as a unit, they lack cohesion and are often susceptible to the counter-attack with Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto, who are not the most diligent, getting caught up the field as they play integral roles in Barca’s attacks.
Thirty one goals have been conceded in La Liga this season in 31 games – last year they let in 29 in 38 and there are seven games remaining this term. Atletico, as well as fourth-placed Getafe and Valencia, in sixth, have all conceded fewer goals.
They’ve been involved in some high-scoring games this season; 4-4 v Villareal, they lost 4-3 to Real Betis and have earned 4-2 wins against Tottenham, Sevilla (twice) and a 3-2 victory over Rayo Vallecano – keeping just 19 clean sheets in 48 games in all competitions.
An improved United, playing with guile, craft and pace, should be encouraged.
TIME FOR POGBA TO STEP UP
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has called on Paul Pogba to turn it on.
After a sublime start under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United talisman Paul Pogba is regretfully slipping into old ways that frustrated fans – and manager – in the Jose Mourinho days.
After nine goals and six assists in the first 12 games under the Norwegian, Pogba has scored zero goals and contributed to just one in the following seven matches.
Rather than driving forward with powerful runs, getting in the box and using his varied passing range to spark United attacks, he has become a pedestrian. That lackadaisical tendency to dwell a fraction of a second too long in possession as well as the frustrating gesticulating of limbs has become far too apparent in games that have passed him by.
He has allowed himself to become bogged down by limited opponents rather than dominating and presiding over games like he once did – threatening to become the world-class leader that his club so desperately crave.
Barcelona, in the quarter-final of the Champions League, could be just the stage he needs to reboot and reassert himself.
“At Paul’s best, he can run a game like this and that’s what you expect from him: that he really puts his stamp on a game like this,” said Solskjaer in his pre-match press conference. “Paul’s job is to be the creator, and when we win the ball that he drives forward, so I expect him to perform.”
The ball’s in your court, Mr Pogba.
A HISTORIC RIVALRY
Paul Scholes scored the only goal when the two sides met in the last eight of the 2008 tournament.
Barcelona have never been away, but it’s good to have United back in this stage of the competition – their presence has been sorely missed.
From marvellous Messi and the magic in the boots of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford that we hopefully get to see on Wednesday, to Ronald Koeman’s rocket in Rotterdam and a Paul Scholes pulveriser that put the Red Devils in the 2008 final; this is a special European fixture that has produced some classics down the years.
To think it’s been nearly 11 years since a tense and tight two-legged semi-final tie was settled by that Scholes scorcher at Old Trafford – on a night when an emerging Messi had threatened to tear United apart single-handedly.
Of course, the two sides have met since then – twice – but over one game, in the finals of the 2009 and 2011 competition. United were good back then but perfect Barcelona were at their peak. Pep Guardiola’s side purred in an era where they had no equal.
United must evoke memories of 2008 – that Scholes goal paved the way to the final, which they won so memorably in Moscow against Chelsea. They might also look back further into the annals of history and to 1991 and another final – the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup, where a Mark Hughes brace effectively kick-started the gluttonous success under Sir Alex Ferguson.
Seven years earlier, Bryan Robson – who pretty much dragged insipid United through the 1980s – scored two as United overturned a 2-0 first-leg defeat at the Camp Nou to progress to the Cup Winners’ Cup semi-finals at the expense of Diego Maradona’s Barca.
All those involved say the cavernous atmosphere – United’s home support was revered throughout the decade – has never been repeated at Old Trafford since.
In an era where they once again are not among the elite, perhaps they can summon something extraordinary.
