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The Blaugrana had plenty of hands in their 1-0 win at Old Trafford, but created few chances and needed a goal against them to win the game.
It was more by chance than by judgment, but Barcelona won Wednesday a huge 1-0 win against Manchester United, which gives them a good chance to defeat their hoodoo in the quarterfinals of the Champions League.
The Catalans will not think that the match is over, far from it, after being relegated to the background during a second period more and more nervous at Old Trafford.
In the end, the Barca's bottom line remained firm as his hosts failed to record a single shot on target. But that says more about the lack of United incision than about the sturdiness of the visitors.
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Beaten 2-0 at Atletico Madrid in 2016, 3-0 in Turin by Juventus in 2017 and, very painfully, 3-0 by Roma in the Italian capital last season, the days of misery have cost dearly in Barcelona in the Champions League in the past. three seasons.
And they could have been punished for their negligence if they had played on the side of the big shooters. It was Barca's good fortune not to have them.
United threatened early but Barcelona quickly resumed its pace, apparently insensitive to his three play-offs in the quarterfinals. The Catalans led the ball with 85% possession.
Sergio Busquets scored a superb ball in the penalty area for Lionel Messi, who, without looking at him, lashed Luis Suarez to the last post.
The unfortunate Luke Shaw deflected the head of Uruguay. Although Suarez wants to claim it as the first strike of the Champions League since September 2015, he has imposed himself as a goal.
After only 12 minutes, Barcelona had his dream to start, but they could not take advantage of it.
Gerard Pique impressed in defense, showing good anticipation and good timing, while leveling Marcus Rashford's pace, but Ernesto Valverde was fragile in general.
The goal should have given them confidence. They should have killed United. Instead, they let them grow in the game.
Although United failed to create a clear chance, the hearts of Barcelona were in the mouth several times.
Diogo Dalot was well positioned and the Barcelona midfielder trio was outmatched by United, with Busquets being particularly poor and lucky to survive the encounter without a red card.
A fault on the excellent Scott McTominay went unpunished because of the speed with which he took part in the match. However, Busquets received a yellow card in the 17th minute for a foul on Paul Pogba.
He then chained with the French and a handball. United's fans were furious that the Catalan escaped any dismissal.
After the break, United grew up and the Barca fainted. Rashford hit the ball violently when he had more time, placing it at an angle to his knee.
McTominay played in Anthony Martial, but only a Pique Highlighter stole the ball to French while he was about to shoot.
Suarez should have finished United but shot in the net after a good job from Nelson Semedo.
In truth, Barcelona was not particularly profitable for its 1-0 lead and 2-0 would have flattered them.
Valverde will claim that Marc-André ter Stegen was not troubled but that Messi was left to shake his head full time. He knew that they had missed the opportunity to bury United.
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The Argentinian barely made it into the game after receiving a shot in the head of Chris Smalling in the first period, which left him bloody and bruised, and his confused and confused facial expression at the end said a lot.
It was an unconvincing performance in Barcelona, but yielded an excellent score to bring back to Camp Nou for Tuesday's second leg.
They will be confident of progress, mainly because they will have no chance to be as successful as those here.
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