MIGHTY FALL FOR PITIFUL UNITED — FOOTBALL EDITOR IAN LADYMAN,
Luck runs out for Solskjaer’s side to highlight size of task ahead
IF you wanted to be cruel, there are a selection of images available that illustrate just how miserable an evening this was for Manchester united.
Lionel Messi sitting by the corner flag, smiling, after running rings around three united players and being the victim of a playground shove from the exasperated Scott McTominay.
David de Gea trying to hold a soft Messi shot like a child trying to hang on to a pet rabbit.
The away end emptying with 10 minutes to go. And Paul Pogba falling over.
Each would portray the discomfort, the embarrassment and ultimately the pointlessness of this evening from a united point of view. If we needed to know exactly how far united have fallen since the years when nothing scared them, then here was a measure of it.
Maybe, then, it is better to focus on Messi’s opening goal. As much as anything that followed, it was a goal that shaped and settled this tie.
Poor by his standards in the first leg at old Trafford last week, Messi seemed intent on resurrecting the true imagemage of himself here. The 31-year-old was recce
recognisable once again and neverer more so than inn the timing of his first real intervention.
Barcelona, strange as it sounds now, had looked vulnerable early in thee game. united hadad found space to explore. They hadad hit the bar and fluffed another good chance.ance
So, Messi’s goal was important and it felt as much at the time. It did not really look on, either.
The way Messi had shaken off the attentions of Ashley young (twice), then Phil Jones, as he moved right to left across the top of the penalty area was recognisable, but as he prepared to release his shot, he looked to have about half a foot to aim at.
De Gea had got his angles right and must have fancied his chances. Top corner would have given Messi a puncher’s chance, but instead he went low, drawing a stunning left-foot shot away from De Gea and back behind his right hand into the goal.
It was one for the Messi showreel, a classic. We have all seen it before but that does not lessen the quality or the impact of the moment. For united, it must have felt like a door being slammed in their face, the scorer scampering away to take the applause with the key tucked in his sock.
Strictly speaking, the goal did not change united’s task. ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team needed two goals to win before the game started and — on account of the away-goals rule — that remained the case. But the reality is that the goal changed everything.
It changed the mood in the stadium, the mood among the two sets of players and it changed the momentum of the game. Before, united had felt
they were making some progress. Barcelona were skittish. But this served as a reminder of Barca’s capability. Like a boxer landing a lone punch on a challenger’s jaw, it set united back on their heels and they simply never recovered their balance or poise. What we saw here told us plenty about united and not much of it was good. The last time they had played at the Nou Camp was on the way to winning the competition