On Thursday morning the front cover of Mundo Deportivo splashed with a single headline: ‘Titanic’. Making reference to the enormity of a Europa League tie with eight European Cups between the clubs, it turned out to be ironically prescient. Barcelona were ahead at half time, but by the final whistle they ended up like the ill-fated ocean liner: sunk.
The pre-match focus centred on the major absentees and how Xavi Hernández would adjust accordingly. With Gavi suspended, Ousmane Dembélé still sidelined and Pedri replacing Sergio Busquets on the treatment table, key pieces of Xavi’s chessboard were missing. How Xavi would configure the midfield was a key question, as too was the composition of the defence.
Following the first leg there were some tough questions asked about the alterations to a settled backline which has performed so well in LaLiga. To answer this, Xavi went with consensus. As many fans and commentators had hoped – in fact implored – he reverted to his regular defence, with Jules Koundé at right-back next to the central pair of Ronald Araújo and Andreas Christensen. The other question was about the midfield; both the quantity of players and their identity. Sergio Busquets’ return certainly helped, although Xavi still opted for a four-man midfield, with Sergi Roberto playing a hybrid role where he joined attacks but shuttled back without the ball.
Perhaps the most significant question of all, however, was how well would Barça compete? Following so many continental disappointments, they have a growing obligation to prove themselves in European competition once again.
At half time things were going to plan. Robert Lewandowski converted an early penalty and the Catalans were on course for only their second ever victory at Old Trafford. The hosts were surprisingly flat and passive, unable to generate any momentum in attack and the crowd were beginning to show murmurings of discontent.
The break changed everything. Erik Ten Hag must have delivered a stirring half-time team talk because United came flying out for the second half. Fans had barely returned to their seats when they were leaping up, the electricity of a cold Manchester night converted into 73,000 rejoicing in unison. Barça’s advantage was neutralised within 90 seconds of the restart, and from that moment on there was only going to be one winner. With the energy of the crowd and the newfound momentum, United were well on top. Ten Hag deserves credit for a decisive alteration, which saw Wout Weghorst replaced by Antony at the break and Macus Rashford deployed centrally. It made United quicker, more vertical and more dangerous.
The winner came following another positive substitution, Alejandro Garnacho immediately involved in Antony’s goal. It came via a loose ball following a series of blocked shots, the ball making its way across the box into the Brazilian’s path.
In truth there was precious little in the way of reaction from Barça, and the substitutions came too late, Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati having scant time to make the kind of impact Raphinha lacked. He was most noticeable when the crowd cheered his departure, not forgetting his Leeds United past. In 75 minutes he only had two shots (both off target), failed to create a chance, and completed only one of four dribbles. On his day, Raphinha is a potent weapon, but is having too many inconsistent performances at this level. The closest the visitors came to an equaliser was a Koundé header which was smartly saved by David De Gea. It became evident that United’s bench had more game-changers, and Ten Hag was willing to use them in a proactive way.
At the final whistle, Old Trafford rose as Casemiro fell to his knees. A Clásico veteran, in 21 matches against Barça he has only lost six. No doubt Raphaël Varane had that extra motivation too, and had forewarned that the Old Trafford atmosphere would push United on. They all played their part.
As the port-mortem begins on another blaugrana exit, the statistics make for grim reading. Xavi made his European debut on this ground, way back in 1998, but now his lasting memory will be that of a fourth exit from European competitions in 15 months, and out of Europe altogether before March for the first time since his debut season, 1998/99.
Denying the charge that his team had thrown the towel in, Xavi praised the improvement of United and stressed his side had competed much better this season compared to last. However, the fact remains that under Xavi, Barça have only won four games in Europe out of 16 (25%), and only one of those came against a fellow club from Europe’s top five leagues (Napoli).
In the post-match press conference, Xavi was keen to focus on the remaining competitions, through which they could secure a domestic treble. Asked about the difference in form compared to domestically, Xavi reiterated the misfortune in terms of the level of opposition faced at every stage, and stated that he was confident his side would compete at the highest level again from next season.
When La Liga Lowdown asked him what this defeat would do for the confidence of the team, he admitted the players would have to get back up and focus on the next game, with Almería up next before the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final against a buoyant Real Madrid next Thursday.
As for Xavi’s counterpart, Ten Hag pronounced this result as “magnificent”, for his side to beat one who are eight points clear of Real Madrid, especially seeing how Los Blancos played in their match down the M62 this week.
The full impact of this defeat can only be fairly judged at the end of the season, when the totality of the success is decided and evaluated. But right here, right now, it feels at best like a missed opportunity, at worst another damaging setback.