The world held their breath as Barcelona took on Manchester United on 17th April at Camp Nou. This was the second leg of the Champions League clash between these two legendary teams after Barca has emerged victorious in the first leg by 1–0 aggregate.
Man U fans were hopeful after they had successfully defeated PSG last week, and were waiting with bated breath for his football match to commence. The fans were hoping for another miracle, especially when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a good history. They were hoping for a miracle equivalent to the 1999 win over Bayern Munich. This immense anticipation and hope, however, met with severe disappointment when Barca once again clinched the victory, as they whitewashed Man U with 3–0. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after the defeat, was all praise for Messi, whom he called a top player and in a league of his own. He also added that both Messi and Ronaldo are in a class of their own.
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While Barca was the more balanced and composed side, a whitewash of this level was not expected. So what really did go wrong in this football match for Manchester United?
Manchester United started their game with high on energy and full of spirit. For the first five minutes, they seemed to have gotten hold of the football game, as Barcelona was running around all confused. This equation quickly changed in merely a few minutes. Suddenly, Barca came out with all guns blazing with Lionel Messi leading the charge. His first goal gave a much-needed boost to Barca and after that, there was no looking back. The second goal, also from Messi was a glaring mistake by David de Gea- Manchester’s Keeper. While this was not this first mistake, this was certainly one of the costliest.
Man U’s lack of focus and failure to score even one goal in the first half was what took the game away. Messi was brilliant and displayed some of his best football skills. From his run ups to his first goal, there was no stopping him. Man U’s constant efforts to tackle Messi instead of focusing on scoring a goal also hampered the side dearly. Frequent individual errors and plenty of missed chances sealed the deal for United.
Man U certainly needs to buckle up and evaluate themselves before they go onto their next match in the premier league against Everton
Major Revamp Needed
Manchester United needs a severe revamp in their team, especially their defence needs to be changed completely. After the first goal, the players seemed to let go of all interest and motivation to try and salvage the match.
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Pogba who started off with a great performance for United was distracted. His feet seemed to roll over the ball more often than not. The coaching staff really need to rethink and start filling up the talent gaps that have emerged on this side. They need to recognise the lack of depth plaguing this starting lineup. Solskjaer also hinted at a major change in the side as the transfer season approaches “We’ve got a rebuilding job. It starts with the coaches, the players, and of course one or two additions,” the 46-year-old said
Need To Hold Their Own Mid-Field
While, the Red Devils’ offence and defence and everything in between were troublesome in respect to the Barca match, what really shocked both the fans and the onlooker in this football game was the shocking midfield. The trio assigned to the midfield seemed to be gasping for air, as Barca’s counter attacks were too strong to handle. Scott McTominay and Fred were assigned as defensive mids but became too over-reliant on an out of form Paul Pogba as the match progressed.
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McTominay’s positioning on the right and Jesse Lingard’s placement as a winger resulted in a severe lack of efficiency on that side. Most of their attacks were primarily created on the left side of the pitch, as Martial and Ashley Young became desperate over the course of the match to alter the looming final result.
Leadership Issues
United’s surprising win over PSG, had subdued the talk over the glaring issues that plague the team till now. This loss has once again brought those issues to the forefront. There is a need to hire a technical director, along with a permanent skipper assignment on the pitch to recharge the squad when a two-goal deficit prior to halftime erases all desire to continue competing. There has to be someone who needs to look at the problems and set to correct the damage from the top management.
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Manchester United has been one of the most legendary football teams in the history of club football. But, as of now, the team needs a lot of work and someone who can mitigate the issues. It is clear that Man U manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer can understand this, but whether he is ready to put in the required work to bring this team back from the dungeons is still left to be seen.
Originally published at Sporcial.
