Talking points from the Nou Camp

Thursday 16 February 2023 19:49

There was so much to digest at the Nou Camp after Barcelona and Manchester United battled out a thrilling 2-2 draw in the Europa League.

The breathless second half included pulsating action that had the crowd on its feet with Marcos Alonso's header springing the Reds into life. Marcus Rashford swiftly equalised before creating the own goal netted by Jules Kounde, close to the hour mark.

Raphinha made it 2-2 when his cross skipped in without a touch off Robert Lewandowski but there was controversy with a penalty appeal rejected for the visitors, a few scares towards the end and a thrilling contest that, thankfully, is only halfway through with the second leg to come next week at Old Trafford.

That could well now be the hottest ticket in town! See what we're discussing in the wake of a sensational see-saw encounter...

50-UP FOR RAPHA

Raphael Varane made his 50th appearance since joining the club from Barca's fiercest rivals Real Madrid. The elegant France international started alongside Luke Shaw in the middle and made one bold run forward early on that drew whistles from the home crowd. In the 25th minute, he atoned for a stray pass by robbing Lewandowski and, despite being booked, then outsprinted the Poland striker in a race for a through ball to show his quality. This was another assured display by the centre-back, in the absence of the suspended Lisandro Martinez.

LEWA'S FIRST GAME AGAINST UNITED

Lewandowski had not come up against the Reds before and the centre-forward, who attracted interest from Sir Alex Ferguson in his Borussia Dortmund days, was an obvious threat considering his incredible record of 45 goals in his last 37 European outings going into the tie. The 34-year-old had the first threatening effort on goal, forcing David De Gea to beat the ball away in the ninth minute, following a clever move. He was inches away from being credited with the equaliser but replays showed he did not make contact with Raphinha's cross.

WITHDRAWN WEGHORST

As he did in the latter part of the win at Leeds United last weekend, Erik ten Hag used Wout Weghorst in more of a midfield role than his traditional centre-forward position. The Netherlands international occupied a spot that allowed skipper Bruno Fernandes to play wide on the right and still had a clear opportunity in the first half, denied by a smart save by Marc-Andre ter Stegen, following a superb pass by the captain. Wout played the full 90 minutes, giving his all.

DOUBLE BARCA BLOW

The hosts lost influential midfielder Pedri due to injury, four minutes before the break. The Spain international was replaced by Sergi Roberto and it will be interesting to see if he is able to recover in time for the second leg at Old Trafford. The Catalan club have a home game here against Cadiz on Sunday night before then. Pedri's midfield partner Gavi was later shown a yellow card for a cynical tug-back on Fred and is now suspended for next Thursday's decider. Sergio Busquets, of course, missed this game through injury.

A FAMILIAR FOE

We know Marcos Alonso, of course, from his time at Chelsea but the defender, who headed the opener, also has another connection with United. His father Marcos Alonso Pena - who sadly passed away last week - was a striker who played against Ron Atkinson's team in the 1983/84 European Cup Winners' Cup, when we made one of our best-ever comebacks to win 3-2 on aggregate on a raucous night in M16. The second scorer was also a former Premier League performer in ex-Leeds man Raphinha.

Match report: Barcelona 2 United 2

 Article

Our Europa League tie remains in the balance after a thrilling game at the Nou Camp.

MARCUS THE BEST IN EUROPE RIGHT NOW?

Our in-form forward had been relatively quiet in the first period, despite forcing Marc-Andre ter Stegen to claw away one shot with his right hand. However, when needed, he answered the call following Barca's opener. The no.10's slick finish to Fred's through ball quickly restored parity, squeezing the ball past ter Stegen at his near post, the only place he could probably score from, and then tricked Raphinha to set up the own-goal by Kounde. The stats show he is the best striker in Europe since the resumption following the World Cup. That case is looking even stronger now.

 

ANGRY ERIK

The boss is not one to let his emotions boil over but he was furious when Rashford was denied a penalty after being barged by Kounde inside the box at 2-1 to United. The Dutchman received a yellow card for his complaints, which appeared to indicate that the referee awarded a foul for a very similar challenge, by Fred, at the other end moments later. It was perhaps indicative of the stature of this contest and what it means to the manager.

WHERE DOES THIS TIE RANK?

After Raphinha's leveller, both sides kept up the pressure and either team could have won it. Casemiro hit his own post but United continued to carry a threat. The tie conjured up memories of the two cracking 3-3 draws in the 1998/99 Champions League group stages and must rate highly in terms of all our performances in Spain. In terms of the best-ever United Europa League clash, that may also be up for debate as the crowd lapped this entertainment up.

BRING ON PART TWO!

There are seven days before we do it all over again, although this time on our home patch. Remember, perhaps unfortunately, the away-goals rule is no longer in force but everyone's appetite has been whetted for the second instalment of this contest. United's fans will hopefully make Old Trafford as partisan and pressurising for the officials as their Barca counterparts did this evening. While the away supporters were singing of Wembley after the final whistle, it's Leicester City up next on Sunday before we can then refocus on this European challenge.

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