Welcome to Sportstar’s highlights of the Manchester United vs Barcelona Europa League knockout playoffs second leg match played at the Old Trafford Stadium.
Manchester United beats Barcelona 2-1 on the night and qualifies for the Round of 16 with an aggregate score of 4-3.
Match saving tackle- Lewandowskui makes a great run and he beats De Gea with his shot. But Varane is there to clear the ball.
Torres does well to cross from the right. It looked like a dangerous ball and Ansu Fati jumped for the header. But the youngster cannot reach the ball.
The United players are desperately trying to see the game out. Barcelona enjoying more of the ball at the moment.
Five minutes added at the end of the second-half!!
Barcelona looks to break on the counter and the Catalans were doing well until Varane snatches the ball away from Lewandowski.
Manchester United sub: IN- McTominay OUT- Rashford
Booking: Casemiro sees a yellow card for his foul on Lewandowski. He knew exactly what he was doing there.
Booking: Busquets sees a yellow card for pulling down Garnacho.
Rashford receives some medical attention and is okay to continue.
Shot: Rashford takes a lashed shot but his effort hits the side-netting. Moments later, he has a tussle with Araujo and stays down.
Close- Garnacho makes a darting run down the right flank and squares the ball to the centre. Rashford was the intended target but the ball was just behind Rashford.
Booking: Garnacho is shown a yellow card for his late challenge on Kounde.
Barcelona sub: IN- Fati OUT- Raphinha
GOOOOALLL!! MANCHESTER UNITED TAKES THE LEAD!! ANTONY SCORES!! The attack started with a backheel from Shaw to Fernandes. Fernandes sets up Garnacho, whose shot is blocked. Fred’s shot is blocked too but the ball falls to Antony who slots the ball into the far corner with a sublime finish.
Booking: Robert Lewandowski is shown a yellow card for his foul on Casemiro.
Barca sub: IN- Ferran OUT- Roberto
Fred sends in a chipped ball inside the box from the left but it is too close to Ter Stegen who comes out and collects the ball.
Man United sub: IN- Dalot, Garnacho OUT- Wan Bissaka, Sancho
Kessie gets a shot away this time but it was a comfortable collect for De Gea.
Save: De Jong’s cross inside the box finds Kounde inside the box who gets a solid header away. However, De Gea is alert enough to make the save from close distance.
United breaks on a counter and Antony was spoilt for choice in the box. But his decision of shooting himself was disappointing as his shot is blocked.
Raphinha tries to play a through ball to Kessie who had made an underlapping run but he ends up playing the ball outside.
Bookings: Bruno Fernandes and Sergi Roberto is shown a yellow card each for getting involved in a tussle.
Fred with an inspiring run from inside his own half and does extremely well to poke the ball in Rashford’s path. Rashford makes his way inside the box and crosses in the middle. Ter Stegen is not the most confident is dealing with it but the Barca defence deals with it.
Antony shows one of his tardemark moves by cutting in and aiming the top corner with a curling shot. This time, he hits the ball straight to Ter Stegen.
Rashford using his pace to get past Araujo on the right but his intended pullback is disappointing as the ball goes out for a goalkick.
Chance- Antony finds himself with a clear shot at goal after a good ball was played to him over the top. He makes his way into the Barca box but Christensen put good pressure on the Brazilian and forced him to play the ball out for a goalkick.
GOOOOOOALL!! MAN UNITED SCORES!! FRED WITH THE EQUALISER!! Fernandes finds Fred with a good pass and the Brazilian shows wonderful control and placement to slot the ball in the bottom-right corner.
Man United sub: IN- Antony OUT- Weghorst
Barcelona starts the second-half with a 1-0 lead against Manchester United and a 3-2 lead on aggregate.
A Robert Lewandowski penalty keeps Barcelona in a 1-0 lead against Manchester United at the break.
Two minutes added at the end of the first-half!!
Horrible mistake from De Gea as he gives the ball away to Roberto from a clearance. But Casemiro stops Roberto’s shot with a last-stitch tackle. Kessie takes a shot from the rebound but Casemiro blocks. The United defence recovers well.
De Jong sends a cross inside the box from the freekick and Casemiro heads the ball out for a corner.
Weghorst held on to Kessie and the latter attracts a foul in a dangerous area.
Roberto tees up Raphinha for a shot and the Brazilian obliges by shooting first-time from distance. But the ball kept rising and went out for a United goalkick.
Close- Fred’s first time shot just misses the goal and rattles the net at the top. It is difficult to say whether he intended that or misdirected his cross.
United waiting patiently to build an attack and finding an opening in the Barca defence but Xavi’s men are defending with discipline. Rashford has been quiet by his standards till now.
Martinez looks to find Rashford on the left with a long diagonal but the Argentine ends up sending the ball straight to Ter Stegen.
The game has heated up after that first goal coming from that controversial penalty call. Lots of tackles flying around the Theatre of Dreams.
Fernandes goes for a shot on a first-time volley after a long ball was played to him. He timed his run well but could not apply enough power on his shot.
Shaw with a heavy tackle on Araujo. It was a heavy challenge and Araujo took some time to get up and continue with play.
GOOOOALLLL!!! LEWANDOWKSI SCORES FROM THE SPOT!! It is not the best of penalties by Lewandowski as Dea Gea got his hands on it. However, the Spaniard could not prevent the ball from going inside the net.
PENALTY TO BARCELONA!!! BRUNO FERNANDES BRINGS DOWN BALDE INSIDE THE BOX!! UNITED PLAYERS PROTEST!!
Rashford brings down the ball with exquisite control and makes his way down the left. He beats Kounde using his quick footwork and wins a corner for United.
Raphinha pings a cross inside the box instead of going for the shot but Casemiro clears the ball. Fred tries to start a counter but ends up conceding a throw-in.
Fred fouls Balde and Barcelona has a freekick in a dangerous position. It is just within striking range.
Bruno delivers a cross inside the box from a United freekick but it is headed away by Araujo. The ball is not cleared and Wan Bissaka crosses from the left, but cannot keep the ball in play.
Rashford takes a tumble at the edge of the box and there is a shout for a foul. But the referee waves play on and asks Rashford to get up.
Raphinha takes a shot from distance but it sails above the United goal. Earlier, Casemiro shot from distance too, but the ball sailed above the bar.
Save: Casemiro threads a brilliant pass to Bruno Fernandes, who makes a run inside the Barca box. He shoots from a tight angle, but Ter Stegen makes the save.
Kounde has taken an early knock and stays down but it does not look like anything serious.
The second-leg of the Europa League playoff match between Manchester United and Barcelona has kicked-off at the Old Trafford Stadium.
1:00 AM: Just 30 minutes to go for kick-off!
Fans arrive at the stadium prior to the UEFA Europa League knockout round play-off leg two match between Manchester United and FC Barcelona at Old Trafford. | Photo Credit: Catherine Ivill/Getty Images
Form Guide!!
Manchester United
Barcelona
Confirmed starting lineups!!
Match Preview
Barcelona will be without some of its regular starters for the return match against Manchester United in the Europa League on Thursday, including playmaker Pedri and forward Ousmane Dembele because of injuries.
Coach Xavi also won’t be able to count on suspended midfielder Gavi.
The teams drew 2-2 in Barcelona last week in the first leg of the knockout playoffs. The former European champion traded leads in a thrilling back-and-forth second half at Camp Nou.
Barcelona, which travelled Wednesday to Manchester, heads to the match still reeling from the public disclosure that it made payments of millions of dollars over several years to a company that belonged to the vice president of Spain’s refereeing committee, igniting widespread criticism of the club across Spain.
Barcelona has denied any wrongdoing, saying it paid for technical reports on referees but never tried to influence their decisions in games.
Muscle injuries have sidelined Pedri (right leg) and Dembélé (left leg). Xavi could use forwards Ferran Torres or Ansu Fati to play in attack against United with Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha or add Sergi Roberto to an attacking midfield position in what would be a more cautious formation.
Raphinha started on the bench in the team’s 2-0 win against Cadiz in the Spanish league on Sunday, a result that left the Catalan club eight points ahead of second-place Real Madrid. Lewandowski and Roberto scored a goal each.
-AP
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