Barcelona edge past Manchester United in first leg of Champions League quarter-final

Barcelona win 1-0 in first leg of Champions League quarter-final

Ernesto Valverde avoided the mistake of fielding an unfit Ousmane Dembélé, but Barcelona still came away with a 1-0 victory to go into the second leg at the Camp Nou with a solitary away goal. It was an own goal which was the difference between Manchester United and Barça.

Old Trafford did not hide its chagrin for Luis Suárez, but it did not affect ‘El Pistolero’ as he played a huge part in the opener in the 12th minute. Sergio Busquets brilliantly floated it in for Lionel Messi. Messi found Suárez at the far post, and the Uruguay international headed it past David de Gea off Luke Shaw.

Barça lost a bit of steam going into the half-hour mark, with Manchester United having more possession and implementing the high-press. But the Red Devils lost some of that momentum as Chris Smalling’s challenge left Leo Messi bleeding, pausing proceedings.

Soon after, Luis Suárez took advantage of Victor Lindelöf’s mistake at the back to set up Philippe Coutinho with some great hold-up play. The Brazilian forward’s firmly struck volleyed effort was saved well by David de Gea with his feet.

Barça recovered some of the poise going into half-time, even as United tried to use long-balls to their advantage up front. But the Red Devils fought back after the commencement of the first-half, with the Theatre of Dreams getting behind the home side.

But they couldn’t create any direct chances. Instead, a big opportunity was created by Barça as Nélson Semedo nutmegged Diego Dalot to find Luis Suárez in space. But the Uruguayan centre-forward fired into the side netting, wasting a chance to extend the lead.

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Fearing a threat from Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s men, Ernesto Valverde decided to consolidate the midfield by replacing Philippe Coutinho with Arturo Vidal, and bringing on Sergi Roberto for Arthur. It worked, as Barça started resisting the pressure from Manchester United.

It culminated in a free-kick from a good spot for Leo Messi. His effort was deflected and saved comfortably. The late minutes were nervous for Barça, as a resolute United side hit hard. But Gerard Piqué stood firm, leading the defence to a hard-fought clean sheet.

In a game that was quite scrappy, a man-of-the-match would have to be a player who was understated in his reliability. That player has to be Gerard Piqué, whose experience has aided Barça in going into the second leg with a one-goal advantage.

Lionel Messi was also instrumental in Barça’s victory, as usual. Ivan Rakitić and Sergio Busquets were slightly off, but Arthur managed to keep up a decent level of performance. Sergi Roberto was phenomenal off the bench, as was surprise starter Nélson Semedo.

Manchester United were good in spells, but failed to keep up their pressure. The Barça full-backs managed to keep their United counterparts quiet, but the forwards had plenty of space down the wings. But still, the Red Devils failed to create a clear-cut chance.

Ernesto Valverde’s men will be satisfied with this result, and Barça’s home record this season makes the Catalans the clear favourites to progress to the Champions League semi-final.