What a fantastic game and result for the Red Devils. Manchester United overcame an early deficit to defeat Barcelona 4-3 on aggregate in their Europa League playoff, giving ten Hag his best victory as Man Utd’s manager to date.
I don’t think I’ve been this happy as a United fan since Jose Mourinho won the Europa League for the club back in 2017.
Despite going down 1-0 to Barcelona, the very team that has knocked Manchester United out of Europe in their last three meetings (2009 Champions League Final, 2011 Champions League Final, 2018 Champions League Quarterfinals), Erik ten Hag and his United side were able to rally themselves and score two unanswered goals to win the tie 4-3 and move on to the Europa League Round of 16. And they did so in style.
If this was literally any other Manchester United after Sir Alex Ferguson’s retirement in 2013, they would have bowed down to the La Liga giant after going down 1-0 and gotten beat 3-0 or 4-0 at Old Trafford. To be able to overcome an albeit weakened Barcelona team, one needs heart, character, and the determination to win against one of Europe’s greatest ever clubs.
That’s something Man United has lacked under David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and Ralf Rangnick as each one of these managers had teams that went up against the greats of Europe but failed to deliver a win in the end due to an inferiority complex.
I mean, Jose Mourinho literally said after his 2-1 loss to Sevilla in the Champions League that United’s “Football Heritage” at the time was that of a loser as they had been knocked out of Europe early in the previous 4-5 seasons. Sure, that was true, but he failed to mention that it was HIS JOB to bring determination, belief, and hope back to the club, not give in to the “loser” mentality that has polluted the Old Trafford air for the last decade.
Nevertheless, in the end, it was Erik ten Hag who would be the man to forge a new chapter of European glory for Manchester United.
After into half time down a goal due to a soft Robert Lewandowski penalty strike and generally playing poorly, ten Hag pulled a masterclass stroke over Xavi (Barcelona’s manager) as he brought on Alejandro Garnacho and Antony to help Manchester United attack Barca’s weaknesses on their flanks.
And, within 25 minutes, Man United went from being down a goal and on the brink of elimination to being up 2-1 on the night (4-3 on aggregate) through a 47′ strike from Fred and a fantastic volley into Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s right corner by Antony in the 75′.
United completely played Barcelona off the park in the second half as they racked up 12 shots, 5 shots on target, and dominated the midfield, even though Barca ended up with 58% of possession.
Sure, Barcelona was without Pedri (injured) and Gavi (suspended), but they still had Frenkie de Jong, Sergio Busquets, and Franck Kessie in the middle of the park to combat the combination of Casemiro, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, and Wout Weghorst (he was the CAM). Yet, these great players were either shutdown completely or brushed aside by United’s midfield, which is not something I thought I’d ever say about a Barcelona midfield.
It’s truly a wonder what a competent, top-class manager can do with a squad of players as guys like Fred, Diogo Dalot, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Marcus Rashford, Raphaël Varane Luke Shaw, David de Gea, and Scott Mctominay as they’ve have been playing out of their minds since the first few months of the season, while his new signings, such as Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Antony, and Alejandro Garnacho (a youth team player introduced to the 1st team), have helped cement this winning mentality.
Everyone is desperate to win each and every game and have put their bodies on the line to ensure they end the 90 minutes on top, which is something only the best of the best managers can achieve in such a short timeframe.
And, yes, Erik ten Hag is on his way to prove that he’s one of Europe’s Top-5 best managers as he has United on pace to finish within the Top-3 in the Premier League, a potential EFL Cup victory (if they can beat Newcastle this Sunday), a showdown with Real Bettis in the Europa League Round of 16, and a Round of 16 matchup against 18th place West Ham United in the FA Cup.
Anyways, back to the game, Barcelona did have a few chances, such as the Jules Koundé header that David de Gea brilliantly tipped over the bar and Varane’s goal-line clearance on Lewandoski’s 94th minute shot (which was offsides anyway), but United’s defense of David de Gea, Diogo Dalot (sub), Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Lisandro Martinez, Raphaël Varane, and Luke Shaw was a brick wall that Barca couldn’t break down.
I’m sure Barcelona will say that they were only focused on the league and their Copa Del Rey matchup against Real Madrid, but another early European exit is not what anyone in Catalonia wanted. It’s just another sign that this team has yet to catch up to the greatness of the past.
As for United, a quadruple is the limit for this team as they are the only club across Europe’s major leagues to still have a chance of winning four competitions.
Now, I don’t think United will win four trophies this season (I’m predicating two), but there’s no reason for that group of players to believe that. This is one of the hottest teams in all of Europe at the moment, and they should ride that hot hand for as long as far as it will take them.
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