Manchester United arrived in Barcelona hindered by injuries to play an in-form side in a stadium they had never beaten them in before. They left with a creditable draw which will give them confidence of reaching the next round of the Europa League.
United’s clash with Barca was given the big billing and on this occasion, it delivered, with four second-half goals producing an enthralling 2-2 draw in the knockout tie. Marcos Alonso’s back-post header from a corner put the home side in front before United sprung into life.
Marcus Rashford continued his fabulous form by racing through to beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen at the near post before he took advantage of a short corner to fire a dangerous cross into the penalty area where Jules Kounde put it into his own net.
Barcelona equalised when Raphinha’s cross flew into the bottom corner untouched. There was plenty of other drama, with Erik ten Hag furious at the referee’s decision not to send off Kounde and Casemiro hitting his own post.
Despite his annoyance at not getting more, it was an impressive night for United. They will go into the second leg on Thursday believing they can knock out Barca – and much of that belief stems from the manager, who had a good day at the office.
The Dutchman came into the tie with plenty of issues to deal with. Lisandro Martinez and Marcel Sabitzer were both suspended, while Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen, Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay and Antony were all missing through injury.
Ten Hag put his tactical acumen to good use to put together a system that would make the most of what personnel they did have, and throw a curveball to his opponents.
Luke Shaw once again played at centre-back, but that has become so unremarkable now, given his success in the position over the past few months. What was more interesting was what Ten Hag did at the other end of the pitch.
United’s two goals in seven minutes – and their general performance – owed a lot to their altered set-up. The front four looks simple on paper, but Rashford, Wout Weghorst, Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes were all deployed slightly differently than usual.
Rashford has played exceptionally well off the left wing of late, but he played as a central No.9, with Sancho on his preferred wing. Meanwhile, Weghorst, who was signed as a target man striker but now has one goal in nine games for the club, was dropped deeper into a No.10 role, with Fernandes operating off the right side.
The move was a direct counter to Xavi, who played centre-back Ronald Araujo at right-back in an attempt to nullify the on-fire Rashford. The Barca boss had done the same against Real Madrid previously to stop Vinicius Junior – but this time Araujo’s man was elsewhere.
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The tactical ploy was helped massively by the rejuvenated Fred, who is flourishing in a more forward-thinking role in midfield. With Casemiro holding the fort, his Brazilian compatriot was given licence to roam further upfield – and it was his through ball which sent Rashford through to score United’s first goal.
Ten Hag arrived from Ajax in the summer with a reputation for tactical nous. He displayed it on one of the biggest stages in world football to turn United’s disadvantage on its head – and continue getting the most out of his star player.
Asked about the tweaks, he explained to BT Sport: “It’s not only about Wout, but he did well in that position, and I know he can be, but it gives us a lot of variation, but also you know I want Jadon and Bruno coming in the half spaces, get them on the ball and make runs from both from deep.
“The full-backs joining in made a lot of variation and we had a lot of opportunities and we should have won this game.”
Xavi was clearly impressed by what he saw from his opposite manager. “They have an incredible team,” he said. “They have high-level players with an amazing coach. They are amazing at transitions, Rashford got in behind us a lot and Bruno [Fernandes] is very good at long passes too.”
United’s adaptability and tactical awareness has helped them set up what promises to be an intriguing second leg at Old Trafford next week.
