Manchester United took Barcelona by surprise when the two sides clashed during the Europa League playoff on Thursday night at the Nou Camp stadium.
The match eventually ended in a stalemate as both sides gave their all during the 90 minutes of the encounter, with Manchester United having the better chances of winning the first leg of the tie.
Manchester United's forward Marcus Rashford was involved in both goals as the Red Devils went toe-to-toe with the La Liga table leaders. Marcus Rashford continued his goal-scoring form on Thursday night. He helped the Red Devils level up after trailing the hosts, thanks to Marcus Alonso's header.
The number as well forced Barca's defense to turn the ball into their own net after a short Manchester United corner. Marcus Rashford left Barca winger Raphinha dead after receiving the ball from Luke Shaw. The in form striker moved into the opponent's box before unleashing a low cross, which Barcelona's Kounde put into his own net while under pressure from Casemiro and Fred. Raphinha's evaded cross, which found the back of David De Gea's net, ensured that the Catalans will have to travel to Old Trafford with the score even.
Manchester United were unfortunate to have missed a number of chances due to their lack of clinical touch, and Marcus Rashford admitted he and his teammates were disappointed to be leaving Spain without a win.
The 25-year-old also posted about the draw on his Instagram account with the caption, "Disappointed to only get a draw." This was along with a picture of himself applauding the fans at full time.
In another post he wrote " Glad to have joined two greatsgreats the game in scoring for @manchesterunited at the iconic nou camp"
Manchester United's manager Erik Ten Hag was not totally happy with the stalemate but was positive with the team's performance on Thursday night.
"If you face the number one team in Spain in an away game and you are that dominant, you see that as a positive," the Dutchman said.
"Yes, we should have won this game. We have steps to go, but when two good teams are at their highest level, everyone agrees it was a really high-performance level from both teams, and I said to my team I'm really happy with our performance against this strong team."
The trip to Spain saw seven first-team players miss the tie due to injury and suspension. Marcel Sabitzer and Lisandro Martinez should be available for the return leg of the encounter next Thursday, and hopefully the trio of Anthony Martial, Scott McTominay, and Antony Santos will be back in the squad.
Barcelona have confirmed that midfield duo Gavi and Pedri will miss the Catalans' trip to Manchester United for the second leg of the Europa League knockout phase. Gavi is out due to card accumulation, while Pedri picked up a hamstring injury during the match on Thursday night and is set to be out for some time.
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