MANCHESTER, England (REUTERS) - Barcelona overcame a punchless Manchester United to take the upper hand in their Champions League quarter-final after Luke Shaw's own goal gave them a 1-0 first-leg victory at Old Trafford on Wednesday (April 10).
Shaw deflected a Luis Suarez header into his own net after 12 minutes, handing the Catalans a vital away goal that will make them clear favourites in the return leg.
After United's comeback against Paris St Germain in the previous round, Barca will take nothing for granted, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team will struggle to repeat the trick against a side with a fearsome home record.
"We played a good team," said Solskjaer.
"We know you have to defend a lot without the ball and you might be tired when you get the chance yourself. We go there with one thing in my mind, we have to score."
Barca have not lost at home for 30 games in the Champions League since 2013 and while United can take credit for staying in the tie, they produced little that will overly worry the Spanish side.
Barcelona's first win at Old Trafford in European competition was relatively comfortable with their keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen not having a single shot to save.
With Paul Pogba failing to impact the game, United were left trying to hit Barca on the break or from set-pieces and too often they lacked the precision to make the most of the few openings that fell their way.
The crucial away goal was well-worked. Sergio Busquets found Lionel Messi with a clever ball into the area and the Argentine carved out space on the left to deliver a lofted cross to former Liverpool striker Suarez at the back post.
The Uruguayan's header deflected off the shoulder of a scrambling Shaw and beat David De Gea to give the visitors the lead and although the linesman initially flagged for offside, the goal was given after a VAR video review.
DE GEA SAVES
United had De Gea to thank for keeping the difference down to a single goal as he saved superbly with his feet to keep out Philippe Coutinho in the 36th minute.
Then the home side had an appeal for a penalty waved away after Scott McTominay, who had a fine game in midfield, went down under a challenge from Gerard Pique.
United's best chance of the first half fell to Diogo Dalot but the Portuguese made a mess of a fine Marcus Rashford ball, heading harmlessly across the goal from close-range.
Solskjaer's team had struggled to get a foothold in the game during the opening 45 minutes, but they were much improved after the break, applying plenty of pressure without creating any clear chances.
Barcelona could have added a second had Suarez not fired into the side-netting from a promising position after a clever through ball from Nelson Semedo and then De Gea did well to foil Jordi Alba's low drive - again with his legs.
The loss was United's fourth in their last five games in all competitions.
"We did as well as we could against Messi, kept our shape well. It could have gone both ways," said Solskjaer.
"I don't think we hit the target and that's a disappointment. We go there with work to be done but chances," he added.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde was pleased with the result, especially given the club's previous failure to win at Old Trafford in four earlier meetings in European competition.
"Given the atmosphere and the type of team they are and that this is the Champions League it's very hard to win here, it was a very difficult game and things were complicated for us at a few moments," he said.
"We had spells of dominance they pressured us very high but we created the clearest chances," he added.
Wimbledon humble West Ham in FA Cup shock - espn.com
Guardiola isn't thinking that far ahead just yet and he urged his players to take it one game at a time. "Liverpool and Man City have done incredible so far so deserve the credit. We will have 80 points with six games to play if we win next week," he said. "We are going to do everything to win. No matter the next competition, we will win the game."
Guardiola salutes 'incredible' Manchester City
pembrokeexpress.com/2019/04/02/guardiola-salutes-incredible-manchester-city/
Guardiola salutes 'incredible' Manchester City Posted April 02, 2019 "I just think that whereas City when they are one up can get the football, pop it about and keep it for fun if you want, I don't think Liverpool with the trio of midfield players that they have can do that as well".
Pep Guardiola salutes gritty Manchester City | Football News
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri admitted it will be hard to deny Eden Hazard a move to Real Madrid this summer, even if a reported £100 million ($130 million) move is "too cheap" for the Belgian
£100m too cheap, but hard to keep hold of Hazard, admits Sarri
Thomas Mueller on Wednesday said he was "angry" over Joachim Loew's "bad taste" decision to axe him and Bayern Munich teammates Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels from the Germany squad. National coach Loew flew to Munich on Tuesday to tell Mueller, 29, Boateng and Hummels, both 30, that their international careers are over.
Thomas Muller now has more time for family after 'negative
Password requirements: 6 to 30 characters long; ASCII characters only (characters found on a standard US keyboard); must contain at least 4 different symbols;
Martial and Lingard both limped off during the 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday and are set to miss the FA Cup fifth round tie with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge
Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it used to be, says Pep Guardiola about Manchester derby - Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said Manchester United's home ground Old Trafford is no longer the fortress it used to be as City look to win all three points and take the lead in the Premier League title race.
This season, Lionel Messi seems to be on a mission to right all the wrongs from last season and silence his detractors and if he is to up the ante from his performance this year, it is hard to see
Man on a mission: Lionel Messi's genius reaches new levels at
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's instant impact as Manchester United interim manager continued in his first home game in charge as two goals from Paul Pogba helped his team secure a 3-1 win over Huddersfield.
Pogba strikes twice as Man United win on Solskjaer home bow
TOKYO, Jan 9 (Reuters) - Japan captain Maya Yoshida warned his young teammates that they will need to handle the pressure that comes with being Asian Cup favourites as the four-time winners
Pressure comes with the territory warns Japan's Yoshida
Cristiano Ronaldo was fined almost €19 million ($21.6 million) for tax fraud on Tuesday but will avoid serving a 23-month prison sentence. The Juventus forward, who played for Real Madrid from
Ronaldo fined, not jailed for tax fraud - theworldnews.net
Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal coach says Ronaldo can stay at the top for several years. Reuters - Brian Homewood. PORTO (Reuters) - Portugal coach Fernando Santos believes that talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo can continue playing at the highest level for both club and country for at least three to four years.
Football: Man City inflict more pain on Man United to go back on top Manchester City's Leroy Sane celebrates scoring their second goal with Oleksandr Zinchenko and his team mates. PHOTO: REUTERS
Man City inflict more pain on Man Utd to go back top - Daily
Cody can actually use his athletic advantage against centers and his biggest strength, his help D, is more relied on at the 5. Hawes and Frank provide a really unique frontcourt where neither is very good inside but excel at shooting, passing, and up-faking into simple drives to set up dump offs to teammates.
How to Wasp-Proof Your Backyard This Summer
Harry Kane honoured at Buckingham Palace March 29, 2019 0 London: england football captain harry kane obtained the mbe award on thursday for services to soccer after leading the country wide group to the arena cup semi-very last in russia closing summer season.
Football Extras: Kane honoured at Buckingham Palace
0 comments:
Post a Comment