Marcus Rashford continued his superb goal-scoring form to help Manchester United produce one of the close football scores of the weekend in the Europa League. Rashford arrived at the Nou Camp with pre-match plaudits from both Erik ten Hag and Xavi ringing in his ears, and the attacker responded by drawing Manchester United level, hammering a shot past Marc-Andre ter Stegen two minutes after Marcos Alonso had given Barcelona a 50th-minute lead. Seven minutes later, Rashford completed the comeback by skipping to the byline and drilling a beautiful cross along the six-yard box that Jules Kounde could only chest into his own goal. Man United appeared to be on course for another memorable victory at the Nou Camp, the site of their 1999 Champions League triumph, but Raphinha crushed those aspirations.
Barcelona and Manchester United have met twice in Champions League finals, each time producing a fantastic match befitting of Europe’s premier club championship. But, for the time being, both teams must fight for a place in the Europa League knockout stages, and they will both believe they had a chance to win the first leg. Robert Lewandowski, making his first appearance against Manchester United, was the first to go close, capitalizing on some indecision in the visitors’ defense to collect the ball before forcing a superb save from De Gea at his near post.
After a scooped pass from Gavi, Pedri volleyed over, but Man Utd grew into the game and should have taken the lead when Wout Weghorst latched onto Bruno Fernandes’ through ball, but he blasted straight at Ter Stegen. As Jadon Sancho scuffed the first of two decent chances wide, Ter Stegen stretched out an arm to tip Rashford’s curling effort away, ensuring the first half finished goalless. But there was no danger of the second period repeating itself, with both sides determined on collecting a vital victory, and it was Alonso who opened the scoring, with the former Chelsea defender being given much too much room by Fred to head in a corner at the far post.
Rashford, who has 13 goals in 15 appearances since the World Cup, seized the cue and almost immediately leveled with a rasping shot from Fred’s feed that Ter Stegen should have handled more solidly at his near post. Kounde then pushed Rashford’s cross into his own net and should have been sent off five minutes later for a professional foul on the England international on the edge of the box. However, referee Maurizio Mariani, as did VAR, waived off the incident before booking Ten Hag for the Manchester United manager’s objections.
In the 76th minute, former Leeds winger Raphinha bent in a cross that escaped everyone on its way into the far corner, adding to Ten Hag’s irritation. There was still time for Rashford to slice a golden chance wide and Casemiro to hit his own post with a shanked clearance, leaving fans wanting more ahead of the rematch in seven days.
“If you face Spain’s No. 1 in an away game and are so dominant, you can look at it as a plus. We should have won this game, but we still have work to do. Two high-level teams and I thought it was a lot of fun to watch. Everyone seems to agree that both teams delivered exceptionally well. I was quite pleased with our performance against such a tough team,” Manchester United head coach Erik ten Hag said.
“That was a challenging game full of intensity, passion, and rhythm. We should be proud since we competed admirably till the end,” Barcelona head coach Xavi said. “We could have won with our last two chances, but we were playing against a quality European team today. I believe Manchester [United] is returning, and they showed their finest version today, so we must compete well at Old Trafford. I believe both teams are in the same situation at the same time. I told Ten Hag, ‘Congratulations,’ because he’s doing great.”
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