Ten Hag’s handed a nightmare Barca tie
ERIK TEN HAG has taken delivery of a Champions League tie – but it will be played in the Europa League.
Manchester United and Barcelona, two heavyweights of Europe, will go head-to-head in the play-offs in February for a last-16 place.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
United finished runners-up in their Europa League group, while Barcelona were relegated from the Champions League.
The last meeting between the two came in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2019, when Barcelona
– with Lionel Messi at his best – beat United both home and away.
Barcelona were then knocked out at the semi-final stage by Liverpool in one of the most remarkable comebacks ever seen, Jurgen Klopp’s men rallying from a 3-0 first-leg defeat by winning the return match 4-0 before going on to lift the trophy.
It is a nightmare draw for United head coach Ten Hag, who is making steady progress in his Old Trafford rebuild.
But an early exit from Europe would be a serious blow to a club of United’s stature.
Barcelona coach Xavi regards it as the hardest possible draw.
Xavi said: “Going to Manchester against a really tough rival and a historic side that has grown a lot with Ten Hag, with great individual players.
“It is the toughest rival... a massive challenge.
“Our players will probably be more motivated against a strong team.”
Messi has left Barcelona but his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo is back
at United and Xavi added: “He has marked an era in world football and can still make the difference.”
Former United winger Jordi Cruyff, now Barca’s sporting director, told BT Sport: “It’s good for the Europa League – these are huge clubs who are normally Champions League clubs.
“Super interesting, very emotional, one of the special games.”