Player Ratings: Barcelona Vs Man United (2-2)

(Photo courtesy Getty images.)

A chaotic game which concluded in a 2-2 draw, the FC Barcelona Vs Manchester United play off 1st leg was delightful for viewers all across the world. A packed Camp Nou with over 90,000 people saw tactical tweaks aplenty in order to outsmart the other team. Xavi deployed Marcos Alonso as the left center back over an in form Christensen while Alejandro Balde was replaced by Jordi Alba to lend La Blaugrana his final ball while attacking United's goal. Meanwhile, Erik ten Hag's latest Dutch reinforcement, Weghorst, a striker, was used in the midfield by Ten Hag to dominate the midfield battle aerially given his intimidating presence at 6'6". 

The game produced many instances of brilliance, with both teams refusing to bow out of battle. Both teams were hampered by mistakes, but overall the game was a great advertisement for the sport. Fans & the teams are both free to drawn conclusions at their will, but the fact remains: winner at Old Trafford takes all. 

With much left to play for over the next 90 minutes in England, let's take a look at our ratings for last night's performance. 

MARC-ANDRE TER STEGEN: 7

The German shot stopper yet again had a good night in goal, with him making many critical saves to keep the Blaugrana in the game. However, a goal conceded at the near post is never a pretty sight. 

RONALD ARAUJO: 6.75

Araujo has made it a habit of producing beautiful defensive displays against big teams. But, his use at right back by Xavi was pretty much meaningless given the major threat came from the middle in form of Rashford. His involvement in the build up, too, was subpar. 

JULES KOUNDE: 5

Another abysmal night in the heart of defense for the Frenchman. An own goal perfectly highlighted his night: clumsy & careless.

MARCOS ALONSO: 6

A goal scored by the Spaniard helped Barcelona take the lead, but apart from that he had a night to forget. Poor in transitions, caught out multiple times & not the most effective in distribution, Alonso  offered little to nothing to Xavi's team. Didn't justify a start. 

JORDI ALBA: 7

The veteran for the last couple of years has constantly been criticized for his poor defensive abilities on big European nights. However, the captain rose to the occasion & produced a sublime defensive display, winning many duels, intercepting & clearing. Unfortunately, his final ball, the reason he started over Balde, was severely lacking. 

FRENKIE DE JONG: 6.25

Frenkie had a quiet game but was central to Barcelona's build up from the back. His deficiencies as a pivot were highlighted in Manchester United's 1st breakaway goal as he failed to understand Fred's movement & occupation of area which lead to the goal.

PEDRI: 6

The midfielder certainly wasn't having his best game before being taken off injured, but after his substitution, the game opened up much more, with Barcelona ceding a lot of control. 

FRANCK KESSIE: 5

Already having spoken in depth about Kessie before the game, his performance hardly came as a surprise. Under the press of Man U, the Ivorian barely offered anything and was reduced to safe passes and was invisible in possession in terms of creativity. Albeit, he did shield Alonso from Rashford and Weghorst on multiple occasions.

GAVI: 7

Had a decent game providing his usual elite pressing & superior carrying abilities but failed to create any real threat & lost possession a lot. 

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI: 7.25

Lewa's increasing willingness to drop down and progress the ball has been impressive and was yet again seen yesterday. However, he once again seemed to have forgotten his shooting boots at home.

RAPHINHA: 8.75 *

Undoubtedly the star boy of Xavi's Barcelona last night, the Brazilian has been consistently stepping up since Dembele's injury. He had a decent first half, putting in a good defensive shift as usual, but completely exploded in the second. Impressive off the ball movements & ability to create. Ended the night with a goal and assist.

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SUBSTITUTES:

SERGI ROBERTO: 5.5

Introduced into play due to Pedri's injury. The veteran looked rusty, having hardly procured game time recently. He offered virtually nothing in his advanced midfielder role. To be fair, he proved to be a safe outlet in possession & almost won Barcelona a penalty. 

ANDREAS CHRISTENSEN: 6.5

The Danish international was benched for unknown reasons, but after his inclusion, the defense looked much more stable. Unfortunately, a little too late. 

ALEJANDRO BALDE: 5.75

A subsitution made extremely late, the speedster didn't have enough time to exploit the vast spaces United allowed Barcelona into. In his hurry to create, he lost the ball 11 times in 30 minutes.

ANSU FATI: 6.75

Given the chance to run at the defense, Ansu's growing confidence was visible as the winger took on the defense and shot at goal many times. Impressive cameo. 

FERRAN TORRES: 6.5

Despite being allowed only 10 minutes to make an impact, the intent shown by the winger who replaced Raphinha looked solid. A dangerous ball whipped into the box for Araujo to get on the end of could've seen the game end differently had it not been cleared.

 

THE MANAGER:

XAVI: 6.25

An outing which could've had a contrasting result was possibly hampered by Xavi's overthinking or vision to tweak play. His inclusion of Alba given his crossing abilities was still justified, but the Alonso one was baffling. His use of Araujo was surprising, too. However, the manager has hardly disappointed this season and will show up at Old Trafford with a plan.