Barça and Manchester United will have to decide at Old Trafford. JOSEP LAGO / AFP
No winner in the shock of the dams between Barça and MU this Thursday. The Red Devils led 2-1 until Raphinha equalized with fifteen minutes remaining.
FC Barcelona were hung 2-2 by Manchester United on Thursday at Camp Nou in the Europa League Round of 32 clash, leaving suspense in the second leg at Old Trafford, a week from now, which will decide the team that will rise to the eighth.
In a great evening atmosphere, Marcos Alonso opened the scoring with a header from a corner (50th), but the Mancunians immediately responded with a first goal from Marcus Rashford (52nd), and a second concluded by Jules Koundé against his camp after an incursion and a tense cross from the English international striker on the right side (59th). A quarter of an hour later, it was Raphinha who snatched the equalizer for the Catalans: the Brazilian, brilliant on the right wing since Ousmane Dembélé’s injury, extended a cross for Robert Lewandowski who left the ball heading towards the small net (76th).
This draw is nevertheless a nice blow for the men of Erik Ten Hag who arrived, like the Catalans, in an excellent state of form (five wins and a draw in their last six matches)… And yet another annoyance for the Blaugranas, decidedly abused for several seasons on the European scene.
Pedri comes out injured
Already last year, the Catalans, transferred for the first time in decades to the small European Cup without seeing the final stages of the Champions League, were swept away in the quarter-finals by Eintracht Frankfurt. 2-3 at Camp Nou, after being hung 1-1 in the first leg.
Barça, however unstoppable on the domestic level since the beginning of the calendar year and its coronation in the Supercup of Spain in Morocco, is it at the dawn of a new disillusionment of this caliber in Europe? There are too many similarities with last year’s rout not to be suspicious. And the one that will perhaps bring the greatest harm to the Catalans is the injury of the prodigy Pedri, who came out just before the break visibly hit in the right thigh (replaced by Sergi Roberto in the 39th). The Canarian nugget from Barça had already been injured against Eintracht last year at Camp Nou, and had said goodbye to his season on this elimination.
De Gea and Ter Stegen, impeccable
This time, the injury seems more benign, since Pedri came out of the lawn on his own, escorted by the trainers. And in his absence, the Catalans at least had the merit of not being defeated. In a full Camp Nou (90,225 spectators, a new record for a Europa League match), and after a start to the match marked by two great goalkeepers and the emotion aroused by the goal of surprise holder Marcos Alonso, who dedicated his goal to his father, ex-Barça player who died on February 8, the Blaugranas delivered a breathless end to the match, with a post and a heavy strike from Ansu Fati diverted by an irreproachable David De Gea, who almost gave them victory.
Everything will therefore be decided in the return match in a week at Old Trafford, in an atmosphere that promises to be just as electric.