The last time Man Utd played Barcelona at Camp Nou
Both Barcelona and Manchester United will feel they've drawn the short straw as they prepare to face off in the first leg of their Europa League knockout playoff tie on Thursday night.
Xavi's Catalonians were pipped to the Champions League round of 16 by Inter after another disappointing group stage campaign, while United were beaten to top spot in their Europa League group by the impressive Real Sociedad. So here we are!
The two sides meet with a spot in the Europa League round of 16 on the line, but the context of their upcoming two-legged affair shouldn't undermine the progress each giant has made under their respective new coaches.
The projects of Xavi Hernandez and Erik ten Hag are in full swing, with the last meeting between these two sides depicting just how much has changed in Catalonia and Manchester over the past couple of years.
Barcelona 3-0 Man Utd - Champions League quarter-final second leg (16/04/19)
Manchester United's last visit to Camp Nou arrived in a hugely significant Champions League quarter-final tie during the 2018/19 season. The Red Devils, who were led by interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, had pulled off a mini-miracle in Paris to advance into the last eight, while Barcelona eased beyond Lyon in the round of 16.
The Catalans took a 1-0 advantage into the second leg after Luke Shaw scored the game's only goal at Old Trafford... in the wrong net. However, the momentum United had rapidly built up under Ole meant very few feared the Camp Nou cauldron.
Marcus Rashford threatened to restore parity in the tie early on before the visitors succumbed to a sequence of greatness from the best to ever do it. Lionel Messi sent Fred back to Donetsk with a slick nutmeg before driving infield and curling a pinpoint effort beyond David de Gea. The Argentine grabbed his second of the contest just minutes later when his tamer effort squirted underneath the Spanish goalkeeper.
They had pulled off the unthinkable against Thomas Tuchel's Paris Saint-Germain, but this was a conquest beyond the Red Devils. A Philippe Coutinho wondergoal midway through the second half concluded the rout as Barcelona progressed into the semi-finals via a 4-0 aggregate scoreline.
Barcelona 3-0 Manchester United - starting XIs
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Roberto (Semedo 71'), Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Busquets, Rakitic, Arthur (Vidal 75'); Messi, Suarez, Coutinho (Dembele 81').
Man Utd: De Gea; Lindelof, Smalling, Jones, Young; McTominay, Fred, Pogba; Lingard (Alexis 80'); Rashford (Lukaku 73'), Martial (Dalot 65').
When you look at that United defence, it's staggering that a rather tame Barcelona frontline containing Luis Suarez and Messi were able to score three times. In all seriousness, have you ever seen a poorer backline line-up for a Champions League quarter-final?
Six of the starters from the 2019 clash remain at Old Trafford, but just De Gea, Rashford, and, to lesser extents, Fred and Anthony Martial play prominent roles within Ten Hag's set-up. Once fabled superstars Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, and Alexis Sanchez are all out of the door after each enjoyed indifferent spells in Manchester.
As for Barcelona, the pragmatic Ernesto Valverde was sacked midway through the following season and is now managing at Athletic Bilbao. Their current starting XI is much changed from the outfit that defeated United with just four starters (discounting Clement Lenglet) still at the club.
Pedri and Gavi were still undiscovered teenagers, while contemporary icons Messi and Suarez moved on to pastures new.
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On this edition of The Promised Land, part of the 90min podcast network, Scott Saunders & Rob Blanchette look ahead to Barcelona vs Man Utd in the Europa League, Casemiro's return, the race to buy the club & more. If you can't see this embed, click here to listen to the podcast!