Barcelona vs Man Utd [2-2], Europa League, Play-Off Round 2023 - MATCH REVIEW

Hello and welcome here to TalkFCB and welcome to a fixture this evening that has delivered. I think we can all agree here we spoke before the game about the excitement of this clash and about the fact the two teams were very much in form and that's what we saw tonight. Four goals in total, there was an electric second half, it really really was out there but I think at the end of the game both teams will think they deserve more. On the one hand I think United will go away from this game thinking we could have won that and I think for all of us Barca fans here right now we believe Xavi got it wrong. At the start of this game big decisions were made that we're going to talk about that really shaped our performance. We're going to discuss it all right here and right now so let's do it. Because I do have to be completely honest with you guys when I saw the Barca lineup tonight I was stunned. I was absolutely flabbergasted to see what Xavi did. I cannot for the life of me believe that he thought Marcos Alonso at centre back was a good idea and Jordi Alba at left back. What he did there was rip apart one of the best parts of our team. In recent times our defence has held this team together. It has been the backbone for everything good and we've built from that back line. Why shred it tonight? Why tear it apart? And I want to stress here there was no problem with Andreas Christensen. There was no problem with Alejandro Balde. There was no injuries. It was a simple technical decision from Xavi and why? Because he actually came out before the game and he said I made these changes to prevent injuries and because we need to rotate. Now that was before the game even started so I'm already wondering do we want to be in the Europa League? Was this game even important to Xavi to these group of players? I don't know because that is so so strange there to do that to make that change and to effectively hurt our chances of beating Man Utd because when you look at their team it's what we expected from Eric Ten Hag. They went as strong as they possibly could do. They've got injury problems. They've got suspensions but they lined up as strong as they possibly could. Ten Hag did a few tweaks there in the attacking play. Weghorst played a lot deeper than we were expecting. Sancho was on the other side. Bruno there off to the right hand side and Rashford was down the middle and I'm already wondering was Rashford down the middle to really go and exploit Marcos Alonso because right from the word go in this game for me Barca looked a little bit unsettled. I think Man Utd were putting very early pressure on and inside half an hour there there was a really great chance in the game for Weghorst there. Man Utd had got in behind Barca and this was a big moment here for Marc-Andre Tostang. We've seen it all season long in one-on-one situations. He doesn't panic. He doesn't give up any ground. He stands firm and it's a really good save then to deny Weghorst but it didn't take long for United to start racking up those chances because then one came for Marcus Rashford and again this is the kind of situation here that I'm talking about one-on-one with Alonso because as you can see Sancho plays Rashford in. He actually takes a heavy touch but that takes it beyond Alonso and Rashford is away. He's not then going to catch him in that position there. He's caught lacking and again it's a wonderful save from Tostang to deny him to keep us in the game at that point and the first half Barca really did seem to be quite nervy about our play. Lots of times we were dispossessed there in our own half and it got even worse for us because on 40 minutes there Pedry went down with an injury. That's concerning. Certainly there it was not a big collision. It wasn't really a coming together. It was one of those. He just went down. He has to be subbed and that is really really worrying there. The club already confirming that it's a right thigh injury and Sergio Roberto coming on in his place in midfield but like I say that first half not good from Barca. Not what we were hoping for. We didn't start the game in the way that we wanted to. I would say unsettled and I would say it was unnecessary to start in that manner. However in the second half Barca did come up with a bit more fight about them. Did come out there with a little bit more threat in their attack and Rafinha I thought really took this game by the scruff of the neck in the second half. He was the one out there really looking to make things happen. He was taking on a few good long-range efforts there at goal. Testing David De Gea. There was one there that went just wide off the far post. An absolutely incredible drive towards goal. Just basically to get the crowd going. Get the crowd in the game. I think we're a bit confused at the start of this game with that selection and it was Rafinha on 50 minutes there from a corner kick who put an absolutely stunning ball into the box. It's an in swinging ball in. It's begging there to be finished off and who then happened to be at the far post. Of course it was our good friend Marco Solonzo. Credit to him he can pop up with goals. That is one thing that I do have confidence in him to do. He can pop up. We saw it as well in his time at Chelsea with important goals at important times and it was Barca who took the lead but it was kind of inevitable. There was no way when I saw that back line out there tonight there was no way that we were going to keep a clean sheet and there you go. United equalised because Casemiro plays it in behind Frenkie de Jong. Bit of a mistake there from Frenkie. He doesn't actually anticipate that ball in the right way. Fred then is in behind him in space. He's then got time to pick out Marcus Rashford and it's the same sort of situation here. Rashford is in between Alonso and Jordi Alba. Again United penetrating and targeting our left side and he's in. We're not going to catch him then. There's nobody there that's going to stop him on that side. He's got time for the finish. It's a tight angle. Ter Stegen maybe will feel as though he should have done better but Rashford there with a really good finish and I've got to be honest guys at that point in the game United deserve that goal. They had lots of chances. They missed the number of them but they deserve to get back in it and Barca it was inevitable that we were going to concede and then just minutes later it actually got worse for us in that second half there because it was a simple short corner routine. Luke Shaw there playing it into Marcus Rashford who's then one on one with Rafinha. Now there's only one winner there. You put him out there to deal with Rashford and only him. Rashford just skips past him and suddenly then he's got the whole of the box to aim for with a low delivery. The ball is bouncing around could go anywhere and in the end it goes in off Jules Koundé. Unlucky from him. Barca concede and suddenly then Man Utd had the lead and I was so angry at that point. So frustrated about how all of this has just been allowed to happen. However on 66 minutes then Xavi decided okay maybe I should use my best team. Maybe I should bring on my best players. Andreas Christensen came on for Alonso proving there was no injury at all. Also Balde came on and Ansu Fati came on for Francesc. So Barca going for it then putting a few more players on in attacking positions to threaten Man Utd and lo and behold we did. As soon as we were able to carry more threat across every area of the field Barca then were creating chances. We're putting pressure on. We're using the crowd and Rafinha again was at the very heart of it. Koundé here wins the ball back nice and high up the field. He had then gone back to right back which I think was an improvement. We went with our usual back line and Rafinha then picking it up out wide. He cuts back inside and again the delivery. It's a wonderful ball here and in swinging cross it's begging. It's begging there for somebody to get on the end of it. I thought Lewandowski did. I thought he was the one there that finished it off nicely. Would have been a great goal but no it goes all the way through. That is Rafinha's goal and he deserved that moment tonight. He was the one like I say who was looking to make things happen. Who was really doing everything in his power to threaten United and Barca were level on the night. However the curious selection decisions from Xavi were not over yet because then he decided okay I'm gonna take off Rafinha now and why? Why would you do that? He was the player like I say. He was making things happening. He was driving us back into this game. He got us back into the position to be looking for a winner and he looks over. I'm the one coming off. Why? Why would you do that when he was starting to get some confidence about his game and he was furious Rafinha and I can fully understand why there. He was absolutely fuming heading off. Got back to the bench. He was really really having a good go at anyone who would listen and I understand the anger from him there. Really strange decision to bring on Ferran for the final eight minutes there and added time. So nearly 15 minutes in all that he was on the field for but Barca kept the pressure on. I do have to say in the closing stages we were very very unlucky. There was a Fred handball. Should that have been given as a penalty? It did definitely make contact with his arm. He also appeared to move his arm which is usually the indicator that's got to be a penalty. Not given. Not for the first time in Europe this season Barca were not awarded a ball and then United hit their own post. It's Casemiro inside of the box. Barca ramping up the pressure. He puts it against his own post. It basically rolls along the goal line almost but United managed to scramble it away and Ansu Fati as well had a drive at goal denied by De Gea and we really did put the pressure on but it almost felt to me guys like too little too late. I just think here this was the perfect game. The perfect opportunity in a game like this. Start your best team and then we could have taken the game to United from minute one. We didn't need to wait until the second half. We didn't need to grow into this game to rotate. At the weekend we're playing Cadiz. They are a team right now 16th in La Liga. We are clear in the league. We're at home on Sunday. There was no need to rotate here. This was a chance to play your best team, to play your best football, to put on a show and we could have won this game. We could be going away from this match now with a lot lot more but instead it's two all. We're heading out to Old Trafford. We're going away next week. There's no Gaffey through suspension. There's no Pedry potentially with injury. Still without Busquets. Still without Dembele. It's not what you wanted. Tonight was a chance to win this game, take a lead but we've blown that and that is the frustrating part for me tonight and Xavi is gonna have to accept some big big questions coming his way and I am really interested to know what your takeaway from tonight's performance is guys. You know we were all looking forward to this game. We were all feeling as though this was going to be the match to prove ourselves. The match to really show what we could do on the big stage because this game tonight was one of the best games I've seen all week. Forget about Champions League games. This was top quality, really really good stuff, entertaining. Why couldn't we have gone out there and really really put on that show? That is the frustrating part for me but let me know your thoughts down below guys on the performance, on the result, on what your expectations are now heading into that second leg next week. I will see you soon of course because we are going to be having a lot of reaction to this game and what we've seen from the team tonight. Thank you indeed though for joining me, for all of the build-up, really enjoyed that and here again for the reaction. I will see you very very soon but until next time, as always, Vizca, El Bursa!