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THE NOTEBOOK: Old Trafford rises to the occasion for Barcelona clash, but David de Gea’s penalty continues… and blonde bombshell Alejandro Garnacho is a natural entertainer
Brazilian striker Antony came off the bench to send Manchester United to the Europa League round of 16, with the hosts coming from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 in the second leg of Thursday’s play-offs, progressing 4- 3 overall.
After a frantic start, Barça were awarded an 18th-minute penalty, much to United’s frustration, after Bruno Fernandes was ruled to have fouled defender Alejandro Balde, and Robert Lewandowski simply squeezed the resulting penalty.
United came out of the second half a different team and leveled through Fred, the Brazilian finishing Fernandes’ pass two minutes after the restart.
A superb save from goalkeeper David de Gea kept Jules Kounde at bay, a save that proved crucial when Antony finished with a superb finish in the bottom corner 17 minutes from time to send United away.
Sportsmail’s JOE BERNSTEIN takes a look at some of the things you may have missed at Old Trafford.
Manchester United came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 and reach the round of 16 of the Europa League
Old Trafford rises to the occasion
Old Trafford was as rowdy as you’d expect between the team with the third highest average attendance in Europe this season (Man Utd) and the highest (Barcelona).
It felt like a proper European night from the moment the Barcelona players got off the team coach, 90 minutes before kick-off, to a chorus of boos.
United fans were fired up by chanting the name of their former striker Robin van Persie as he worked on the game for television and the volume built from there reaching a final crescendo at full time.
Rare win for United
This was only United’s second win in their last 12 matches against Barcelona in European competitions (D5, L5).
His last win came in the 2008 Champions League semi-final second leg, when Paul Scholes scored in a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
The woe of De Gea’s penalties continues
It seemed inevitable that Lewandowski would score his penalty past De Gea, particularly as match referee Clement Turpin was also in charge of the 2021 Europa League final when the Spaniard failed to save any of Villarreal’s 11 spot kicks in the match. penalty shootout and then missed. the same.
De Gea helped Lewandowski’s stutter running and kicking, but his overall record is dismal, saving just 13 of the 72 he’s faced in his career, letting the last six go in.
Lewandowski’s goal put him ahead of Marcus Rashford in their head-to-head with both men having scored 24 goals each for their clubs this season.
Fernandes was angry with Turpin for being penalized for a brush with Balde, particularly as United had not received anything when Rashford went down earlier. Barca won’t want to comment too much on the referees at the moment: they are under investigation in Spain for their relationship with former official Enríquez Negreira and accusations of paying for “technical advice”.
Fred 3 Wout Weghorst 0
The Dutch great, signed as a short-term replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo, snagged at half-time and now has one goal in 11 games for United.
On a particularly quiet night for the 30-year-old, he touched the ball just 11 times (see below).
To make him feel worse, Fred scored his third goal since Weghorst last found the net.
The Argentine winger Alejandro Garnacho had a great reception at his entrance in the second half
Garnacho is a born entertainer
Alejandro Garnacho debuted his blonde bombshell look when he replaced Jadon Sancho midway through the second half.
The 18-year-old is a natural entertainer and got a great reception as he looked young enough to be Lewandowski’s grandson.
It was a good night for the shutout brigade with Antony then shooting United ahead.