Manchester United came from behind but couldn’t see out the win, drawing 2-2 with FC Barcelona in a pulsating Europa League play-off first leg in Spain.
The first half was certainly a case of goalkeepers on top, as David de Gea denied Robert Lewandowski early on before, at the other end, Marc-Andre ter Stegen denied both Wout Weghorst and Marcus Rashford.
The finishing was far stronger after the restart though, with a flurry of second-half goals seeing the tie swing back and forth after Marcos Alonso first headed home the opener at the far post.
Rashford quickly equalised with a brilliant near-post finish, before his run then ended in a cross being turned into his own net by Jules Kounde - only for Raphinha’s cross to then drift in at the other end for 2-2.
Here are the player ratings from the first leg at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen, 7. Big first-half saves from two United attackers kept his side level. Will be disappointed though to have been beaten at his near post for the equaliser; nothing he could do about the own goal.
Ronald Araujo, 6. Surprisingly put at right-back and made a couple of errors of judgement, lucky not to concede to Sancho in particular. Not his strongest performance.
Jules Kounde, 4. Troubled by both the physicality of Weghorst and the speed of Rashford. Topped it off by scoring an own goal. Moved to right-back and still struggled on the ball.
Marcos Alonso, 6. Another start at centre-back; lost the runners in his own penalty box more than once but popped up at the other end to score a header. Immediately then beaten by Rashford for the equaliser.
Jordi Alba, 7. Should have done better with one big chance in off the left early on. Stood up fairly well to the infrequent raids down his flank but United were more focused on build-up through the centre.
Frenkie de Jong, 7. Seemed to get bypassed early on but grew into the game and showed his customary vision and passing range to get Barca a few good spells of possession.
Franck Kessie, 6. Hard-working and solid enough throughout. Didn’t always choose the best option in terms of an outlet for Barca but no major errors to cost his team chances either.
Pedri, 6. Didn’t quite get into his best flow before being subbed early with injury.
Raphinha, 7. A couple of moments where he threatened from range or with a dribble from deep, but ultimately didn’t get too close to troubling De Gea or his defence. Roasted by Rashford for United’s second goal but made up for it with a swinging cross that drifted in for Barca’s second.
Robert Lewandowski, 7. Forced a good early save with a spin past Shaw and shot. Despite not scoring he led the line well, troubling both centre-backs more than once and causing De Gea confusion with his attempted tap-in on the Raphinha cross.
Gavi, 7. Fiery and intent on dragging his team upfield whenever he could, but didn’t always have great success with his dribbles from the left of the front line. Much better once back in midfield, feeding passes through and joining the attack centrally.
Subs: S Roberto 6, A Fati 7, A Christensen 6, A Balde 6, F Torres n/a
Manchester United
David de Gea, 7. A good early stop, no chance on the goal and then a camera save from Raphinha. Got a little fortunate at times when Barcelona crowded him out at set-pieces but made enough interventions to warrant the luck.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka, 7. Very positive performance form him, defensively sound against Gavi for the most part but also getting forward to good effect down the right flank.
Raphael Varane, 6. Movement in this game seemed to be an issue for all the centre-backs and Varane was no different. Should have done more to stop Raphinha’s ball floating through and in.
Luke Shaw, 7. A couple of dodgy moments such as a bouncing ball he headed back to a dangerous area, but overall defended well again in a position he’s still raw in.
Tyrell Malacia, 7. Made himself an outlet whenever possible for United down the left, made a great late block on Araujo at the far post.
Casemiro, 9. Other than the fact he almost scored an own goal - hitting his own post - he was nearly perfect at the Camp Nou, not for the first time. Read the game brilliantly, won possession countless times, always in place to protect his defence.
Fred, 7. Not one of his better first halves, a little loose on the ball and missing interceptions, then he was beaten off the corner by Alonso for the opening goal. Much better after that though as United took more control of the game, surging forward in possession, winning the ball and dragging his team upfield.
Bruno Fernandes, 6. In and out of the game at times, playing from the right side for the most part, but had plenty of impressive link-up moments.
Wout Weghorst, 6. Played slightly deeper than usual and although he at times made positive runs or played in those around him, wasn’t particularly effective in the final third himself. Missed a massive first-half chance.
Jadson Sancho, 5. Started brightly and looked to get in down the left at every opportunity but doesn’t look quite sharp enough to be an all-game player just yet. Stumbled over the ball more than once.
Marcus Rashford, 8. Just looks unstoppable at the moment. Even in a fairly quiet first half he still had one big opening he fashioned for himself, then he scored one and created another in the space of a few minutes.
Subs: A Garnacho n/a
