FIRST BLOOD TO BARCA
Messi in wars as Suarez leaves Ole needing new miracle
OLE GUNNAR Solskjaer must produce another famous comeback in the Nou Camp after Manchester United were beaten by Barcelona last night. United head to Spain for next week’s second leg needing to overturn a 1- 0 defeat to rescue hopes of reaching the Champions League semi-finals. Almost 20 years on from his famous winner in the final against Bayern Munich at the Nou Camp, Solskjaer believes he can pull off another escape act.
‘We’re still in this tie,’ said the United boss who masterminded an epic comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16. ‘It’s a tough one but we’ve done that before.’
The only goal on a night when Lionel Messi (left) picked up a bloody nose came in the 12th minute when Luis Suarez’s header
from a Messi cross was turned into his own net by Luke Shaw. A fourth defeat in five games means United have to confound the odds once again against a Barcelona side who have not lost at home in Europe for six years. Solskjaer (right) will also be concerned his team failed to muster a single shot on target in the Champions League for the first time since Opta stats began in 2005. ‘That little quality towards the end (was missing),’ he added. ‘But, you know, when you play against Barcelona you have to play a lot without the ball and you might be a bit tired when you get the chances. ‘There were plusses and negatives. We started sloppy and a bit nervous. After their goal we settled a bit. We played well and we had some very good performances from individuals in midfield. ‘It was a great goal and great movement from Messi and Suarez. They’re a little bit fortunate it comes off Luke and changed direction. ‘Messi is a fantastic player. You see the cross for the goal, his awareness and technique. We did as well as we could against him and kept our shape. ‘At times it felt like a proper Man United team — the crowd were behind us, we got wide, we got crosses in the box.’ On the possibility of repeating the feat against PSG he said: ‘It would be a greater achievement because of the history of Barcelona but we can do it — we’re still in this tie.’ Scott McTominay was the pick of the United players on a night when Paul Pogba again missed an opportunity to dominate on the big stage. The young Scotland star also insisted the tie isn’t over, saying: ‘We’re Manchester United, you can never write us off. They’ve got top class players but so have we. They’re a top team and it’s not easy to press like mayhem but afterwards we did so, so well and credit to the boys for that.’ Apart from his contribution to the goal, United succeeded in keeping Messi relatively quiet and Chris Smalling left the Argentine star with a bloodied nose after a robust challenge in the first half. ‘We were right on the front foot,’ said Smalling. ‘We knew we had to bring that intensity to the game that they’re not used to every week. The whole team, we nullified them even though they scored. We stuck to our game plan. ‘We showed them far too much respect in the first 10-15 minutes but after that we adapted.’