Barcelona 3 - 0 Manchester United: The power of the "giant"

From the moment the quarter-final draw took place, few people had faith in the team led by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This view was reinforced after the first leg when MU lost 1-0 and needed to score at least 2 goals in the return leg if they wanted to win a ticket to the next round.

Messi and Coutinho scored 3 goals in the rematch with MU. Photo: Sport

When German referee Felix Brych blew the whistle to start the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final between Barca and MU at the Nou Camp, MU was the team that organized the first attack, causing difficulties for the Nou Camp team's defense. The score of the match was almost opened in the 2nd minute for MU when Paul Pogba made a delicate pass for Rashford to escape and finish over goalkeeper Stegen but the ball went over the bar.

Determined to turn the situation around, MU launched a series of attacks and forced the home team to defend in the first 10 minutes of the match. After being overwhelmed by the "Red Devils" from Manchester, Barca gradually regained control of the game and put pressure on the visitors' goal.

MU's defense had a poor day. Photo: Getty

Not long after, the home fans were able to celebrate a goal in the 16th minute of the match. Starting from Ashley Young's mistake, Messi won the ball and then dribbled across the penalty area before unleashing his signature left-footed shot that beat goalkeeper De Gea. 1-0 for Barca (the aggregate score of the first and second leg was now 2-0 for Barca).

In the 20th minute of the match, the Argentine superstar once again punished MU's sleepy defense when he had some complicated moves and lost the ball, creating an opportunity for M.10 to break through and shoot with his right foot, not his dominant foot, defeating goalkeeper De Gea: 2-0 for Barca (the total score of the first and second leg is now 3-0 for Barca).

With two quick goals, Barca continued to dominate the game while the Premier League representative showed signs of losing spirit. The coordination was no longer as good as in the first minutes of the match. The few opportunities created could not defeat the defense as well as goalkeeper Ter Stegen on Barca's side. At the end of the first half, Barca temporarily led MU with a score of 2-0.

Entering the second half, MU continued to face many difficulties against the passing play and excellent ball control ability of coach Valverde's students.

In the 61st minute of the match, Coutinho put an end to the adventure of the "Red Devils" of Manchester with a masterpiece from outside the penalty area, raising the score to 3-0.

Paul Pogba was a rare bright spot in MU's defeat to Barca. Photo: Getty

In the following minutes, despite great efforts, at the end of 90 minutes deep at Barca's Camp Nou, MU still suffered from empty hands when not even scoring a consolation goal when facing Barca in Spain.

A 0-3 defeat in the second leg and a 0-4 aggregate loss forced MU to say goodbye to this year's Champions League.

As for Barca, Messi and his teammates became the first team to qualify for the semi-finals. Barca's opponent in the semi-finals is the winner of the match between Liverpool and Porto.

In the same match, Ajax caused a stir when they defeated Juventus 2-1, even though the Dutch club was behind by a goal from Ronaldo. Thus, Ajax followed in Barca's footsteps to reach the semi-finals.

Score:

Barca:Messi (16', 20'), Coutinho (61')

Line-up:

Barca:(4-3-3): Ter Stegen Sergi Roberto (Nelson Semedo), Pique, Lenglet Jordi Alba; Rakitic, Sergio Busquets, Arthur (Vidal); Messi, Suarez, Coutinho (Dembele)

MU: (4-3-3): De Gea ; Jones , Lindelof , Smalling , Young ; McTominay, Fred, Pogba; Lingard (Sanchez), Rashford (Lukaku), Martial (Dalot).

Thanh Vinh