MANCHESTER UNITED – A victorious night at Old Trafford!
In the most featured match of the UEFA Europa League season 2022/23 play-off round second leg, Manchester United grabbed a ticket to the last 16 by beating Barcelona 2-1 at home.
This clash of the giants was widely focused among football fans worldwide, as one of the powerhouses from Britain or Spain being eliminated from the European event on Thursday.
Both drew 2-2 at Camp Nou last week, meaning the winner in this second meeting will be the one into the next stage.
Barca had a good start with a penalty kick from Robert Lewandowski in the 18th minute, giving the home team a huge stress after they fell behind 0-1 in the first half.
Brazilians Duo Secure Victory
Team manager Erik Ten Hag made adjustments in the second half, to give United an effective change and shifted the situation.
Fred scored the equalising goal in the 47th minute, lighting the fire of the Devils to suppress the visiting club in the rest of game time.
Another Brazilian, Antony finally netted the deciding goal in the 73rd minute, bringing the stadium to the hottest ambience surrounded by an estimated 74,000 spectators.
The English giant club’s goalkeeper David De Gea was hugely credited in this significant win too, his several remarkable saves sealed Barca from their second goal after a few dangerous attempts.
MU Seeks 4 Titles This Season
This is Manchester United’s first victory over Barcelona in the last 15 years. They won 1-0 in the UCL semi final in April 2008.
After the elimination, Xavi could only lead his squad to challenge the Spanish LaLiga title and Copa del Ray.
Meanwhile, Ten Hag is still hopeful to bring his team a total of four trophies in the first season he joined United.
Not just Europa League, the Red Devils are also potential to win the Premier League title, the FA Cup and EFL Cup.
They will meet Newcastle in the EFL Cup final on Sunday, a high possibility to hail their first trophy this year.
Favourites of Champion: The EPL Duo
All the teams in the Europa League round of 16 had been revealed after the play-off round finished.
Manchester United and Arsenal are top two favourites of the UEL winner this season, followed by Juventus, Real Sociedad, Real Betis and AS Roma.
Roma’s head coach Jose Mourinho seeks to lead the Italian club to hail their first Europa Cup ever.
The Portuguese brought the Red Wolves to knock RB Salzburg out in the play-off with aggregate 2-1, a brilliant comeback after they lost 0-1 in the first bout.
The Europa League Last 16 will draw their fixtures on Friday, where eight teams from the play-off round will face another eight who were first places in the UEL group stages. However, the clubs in the same countries won’t meet in the next stage.
The UEL round of 16 will be played on 9th and 16th March to decide the quarter finalists.
Check out the previous UEFA Europa League news if you miss it: Europa League: Man United Draw Barcelona to Hold Advantage