Manchester United are looking for another famous Champions League comeback as they head to Barcelona for the second leg of their quarter-final tie trailing 1-0 on aggregate from the home leg.
Having overturned a 2-0 deficit in the previous round against Paris Saint-Germain, they will have the belief that they can do something similar again. But Barcelona at home are a different beast – they are unbeaten in 30 straight European games at the Camp Nou.
Here’s a look at the talking points for United as they look to break that run.
POGBA NEEDS TO BACK UP THE TALK
Paul Pogba had a decent game on Saturday, not just because he scored two penalties – without the funky run-up – but because he was actually trying to dictate play in midfield and demanding the ball, even if it didn’t always work.
After the game, he was candid about the team’s performance, acknowledging that they would need to improve against Barcelona. He’s also been quoted saying that United should believe they can pull off a comeback, regardless of how good their opponents are.
Which is true, of course – a side that has won away at Juventus and PSG this season, the latter result a historic, miraculous win that got them into this round, should believe they can repeat the feat at the Camp Nou. But for them to do it, they’ll need their best player on his best form.
Pogba often talks a good game. Now, he needs to back that up.
Pogba: “A Champions League quarter-final is just beautiful. We just have to enjoy it, give our best and trust ourselves. The game is not done, it's not closed. I know it's Barcelona, we're playing in their home, but it's never closed. It's still 90 minutes.” #mufc [Mail]
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) April 14, 2019
WILL SOLSKJAER DITCH THREE-AT-THE-BACK FORMATION?
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken to deploying three at the back in recent big games, with mixed results. It worked in the comeback against PSG, but in other games, it’s left United’s defence looking confused and vulnerable. The players aren’t used to the formation and it shows.
It’s likely that United’s poor defending is exactly why Solskjaer has opted to add a defender to his formation, but after it backfired against Wolves two weeks ago and wasn’t quite effective last week against Barcelona, perhaps it’s time to ditch the experiment and revert to a back four.
Plus, United need to score, and that urgency should bring them out of their shell. Playing an attacking formation against Barcelona is fraught with risk, but does Solskjaer have any other choice?
UNITED’S ATTACK NEEDS TO START FIRING AGAIN
Though United acquitted themselves well in the first leg, for that to be a sign of their potential rather than a missed opportunity their attack needs to start firing again.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, and Romelu Lukaku have managed a combined three goals in United’s last six games, with the scoring runs they’d enjoyed earlier in Solskjaer’s reign having disappeared into memory. Lukaku is scoreless in five straight appearances and Martial has managed one in his last seven, though Rashford at least is in some semblance of form, scoring three in his last six games.
The young Englishman is also probably the least fit at the moment, carrying an injury he picked up in February against Liverpool and looking short of 100% since then. He needs his colleagues to regain their touch in front of goal; otherwise, the man who scored the winning penalty in Paris will be fighting a lone battle.
Paul Pogba #mufc's top scorer again on 16 goals. Eight of them have been penalties. Lukaku's got 11 goals fewer than he had at this stage last season.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) April 13, 2019
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