Manchester United’s remarkable resurgence under Erik ten Hag continued with another impressive display at Camp Nou on Wednesday evening in the Europa League, with the Red Devils really taking the game to a Barcelona side who are currently the runaway leaders in La Liga.
In truth, the Premier League giants may well be disappointed not to have come away with more than just a draw on the night, although the United boss will no doubt have been encouraged by his side’s resilience, after initially falling behind soon after the interval as former Chelsea man Marcos Alonso nodded home.
While in recent years the Old Trafford outfit may well have wilted amid such a setback, the current bunch showcased that they are made of sterner stuff, with Marcus Rashford – in particular – grabbing the bull by the horns to drag his side back into the game.
After first utilising his breathtaking speed and finishing prowess to net from the tightest of angles for his 22nd goal of the season in all competitions, the England international then expertly skipped his way past a rather helpless Raphinha to set up a Jules Kounde own goal, having superbly fired the ball across the penalty area to cause chaos among the home defence.
That lead proved short-lived, however, as the visitors failed to deal with the aforementioned Raphinha’s whipped cross, with the curling effort evading both the visiting backline and opposition striker Robert Lewandowski to end up in the back of the net.
Despite the frustration of conceding in such a soft manner, Ten Hag’s men will take great heart from their confident and courageous display on the night, with that man Rashford stealing the show having looked simply “unplayable” once again, according to BBC pundit Chris Sutton.
Another key performer alongside the 25-year-old, however, was midfield maestro Casemiro, with the ex-Real Madrid man once again rubberstamping his importance to the side amid his recent absence in the league due to suspension.
How did Casemiro play against Barcelona?
After missing the two recent meetings with Leeds United after picking up a needless red card against Crystal Palace earlier this month, the experienced Brazilian showed no signs of rust as he smoothly slotted straight back into the heart of the midfield.
The “class” operator – as once lauded by journalist Dominic Booth – notably played a key part in Rashford’s opener after finding compatriot Fred in the build-up with a lovely, lofted pass, with such a moment of quality once again laying bare his previously unsung creative brilliance.
Although the 30-year-old did lose possession to spark La Blaugrana’s late equaliser, that was a rare blip in an otherwise serene performance, with much of the blame likely to be shouldered by his teammates for failing to deal with the inswinging delivery.
Simply a “diamond of a footballer” – according to writer John Ludden – the £70m addition unsurprisingly demonstrated his ball-winning prowess after winning five of his eight duels, including winning 100% of his aerial duels.
Despite losing the ball on 14 occasions, Casemiro was still able to achieve a solid 7.4 match rating, as per Sofascore, with that only bettered by David De Gea (7.8) in the sticks for the away side.
Such a dominant display was also lauded by Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst, who suggested that the 69-cap brute had been ‘vital’ in allowing United’s attacking talents to shine further forward.
In truth, amid the recent chaos of having to deploy both Fred and January arrival Marcel Sabitzer together in the centre of the park as a result of his absence, Casemiro’s return last night served as a reminder of the impact that he can make to Ten Hag’s side.
While the one-time Porto ace will again be unavailable at home to Leicester City this weekend, the second-leg clash at the Theatre of Dreams next week seemingly can’t come soon enough, both for him and the Red Devils as a whole.