Three differences between Man United’s last two Barcelona games

Manchester United, on Thursday evening, played Barcelona in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Camp Nou.

Marcus Rashford was a real catalyst in Manchester United‘s performance during the fixture, inspiring a comeback to take the lead after Erik ten Hag‘s men initially succumbed to a 1-0 trail thanks to Marcos Alonso’s header.

Despite an equaliser from winger Raphinha to level the score for Barcelona heading into the second leg, United certainly feel like the team on top and are deemed to be ‘in control’ of the tie as the second leg commences at Old Trafford next Thursday.

Read More: Player ratings as Manchester United draw 2-2 with Barcelona at Camp Nou

The last time Manchester United played Barcelona was in a pretty tragic 3-0 loss during the 2019 Champions League quarter-finals. Lionel Messi scored twice and Coutinho added a third as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men crashed out of the competition, losing 4-0 on aggregate across the tie.

Here are three things that were markedly different between the 2019 and 2023 fixtures.

1) Manchester United’s starting XI

Only three players started both games for United: Marcus Rashford, David de Gea, and Fred. On top of that, of the 11 players who started the fixture on Thursday, eight of said players had yet to sign for the club.

Three of Manchester United’s most important players under Ten Hag, Casemiro, Raphael Varane, and Bruno Fernandes, have all been signed since the fixture in 2019, with other players that play a huge role in Ten Hag’s football, such as Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford, have seen their roles greatly increased in the seven months the club has played competitive football under the Dutchmen.

The team that started against Barcelona on Thursday would no doubt wipe the floor with the team that started at Camp Nou in 2019, and that’s with four key players missing in Lisandro Martinez, Antony, Diogo Dalot, and Christian Eriksen.

The change United fans have witnessed to their team’s starting XI has been extraordinary, with a significant portion of that having changed in the eight months Erik ten Hag has had in control of the team. Of the six players United signed in the summer of 2022, five of them have become integral members of the squad, with the only exception being Martin Dubravka, who was a loan signing that Newcastle United recalled after just six months.

2) Manchester United’s approach to the game

“We will press them high if possible. When we have the ball, we have to let them run – we have players in our team who are able to play [like that], so we have to let them play,” Ten Hag told BT Sport ahead of kick off on Thursday.

The way Manchester United played at Camp Nou in 2019 was defeatist, tragic, and pretty humiliating. Mistakes from De Gea, Ashley Young and co left fans feeling dejected and defeated, with Rashford playing up front with basically no help.

In 2023, United took the game to Barcelona, both figuratively and literally. Fernandes created a great chance after just 30 second, and despite Barcelona dominance during periods of the game, United returned with a much valued draw, a total of 18 shots, two goals, and a higher xG (2.18 vs Barcelona’s 1.05). It could not be more opposite. To compare, that is double the amount of shots United had in 2019, with what is assumed to be a significantly higher xG in 2023, too.

Now, it could be argued that one reason for this difference is that Barcelona no longer have their powerhouses of Lionel Messi and co. on the field, but so much credit needs to be given to the United players on Thursday evening.

They were on the front foot, creative, passionate, and looked like equals, and if not more, with this Barcelona team who currently sit top of La Liga with an eight-point gap on Real Madrid in second, and who have only conceded seven goals all season in the league.

3) Manchester United’s mentality to fight back

So many times, once United have gone down against a big side and just collapsed. But now, with examples extending beyond Barcelona to fixtures such as Manchester City and Chelsea, United have shoved their way back into games after going 1-0 down.

A lot of credit must go to Marcus Rashford for his brilliant creative movements and finishing during the second half of Thursday night, but if you take a closer look, it was the entire mentality of the team that was brilliant. Fred, after being partially at fault for Alonso’s goal, played out of his skin to fight in what was a powerful Barcelona midfield.

When Messi put Barcelona a goal up after 16 minutes and doubled their lead after 20 in 2019, the tie was just so flat. There was panic on the players’ faces, Solskjear looked lost at how to fight back, and the quarter-final was won with 70 minutes left to play.

Granted, the Champions League fixture was the second of two legs with Barcelona 3-0 up on aggregate on this point, but even putting the game in isolation, the difference between the mentality of the side in 2019 and now in 2023 feels like an entirely different club.