Manchester United came from behind to beat Barcelona in the Europa League R16 Playoff as they got the better of the Spanish giants by 2-1 on the night and 4-3 on the aggregate. Goals from Fred and Anthony were enough for the Red Devils to cancel out Robert Lewandowski’s opening goal in the second half as they now look forward to the R16. In other games, Italian powerhouse Juventus and Roma also won their respective matches to book a place in the R16.
Manchester United come from behind
Robert Lewandowski’s early penalty had left Erik ten Hag’s team with work to do but his half-time change turned the game with second-half goals from Fred and substitute Antony enough to take United through to the round of 16 at the expense of Xavi’s Barca.
It was a comeback that had not looked likely at the interval but instead made it a night to remember, a huge moment for Antony and for Ten Hag’s improving team. They go into Sunday’s Carabao Cup final still chasing glory in four different competitions.
The atmosphere had been raucous before kick-off, that sense of the potential for an occasion to savour up against fellow European heavyweights. But for all the excitement, for all the noise inside Old Trafford, it was Barcelona who landed the first blow.
Bruno had the opening chance of the game, finding himself free on the right but only able to fire his shot into the feet of Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal. But that was a minor failing compared to the costly error that was to follow at the other end.
Alejandro Balde was running away from goal in the corner of the penalty box when the United captain tugged at his arm. It was foolish and though David de Gea got a touch to Lewandowski’s penalty he could only palm the ball into the top corner of the net.
In other games on the night, Angel Di Maria scored a hat-trick to book Juventus’ passage in the later rounds as they try to win the Europa League and secure a Champions League spot for next season. The Old Lady have been docked 15 points this season in Serie A and are unlikely to make the premier European competition through their league position. The night also saw wins for AS Roma, and Bayer Leverkusen.
