Manchester United 0 Barcelona 1.
Here’s how we rated the players:
Manchester United
David De Gea – 7
He made a brilliant save to deny Coutinho and it would be difficult to fault him for Barcelona’s opener.
Ashley Young – 4
The United captain struggled, his passing was loose, and he failed to get to grips with Barcelona’s front-three. His delivery in the final third was wayward.
Chris Smalling – 6
He made several blocks, clearances and interceptions to keep the score down, and was generally solid.
Victor Lindelof – 5
Improved after a shaky start when he looked bamboozled by Barca.
Luke Shaw – 5
Only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will know for sure why he played Shaw as a central defender against one of the best attacking trios in world football.
It didn’t really work. Shaw looked lost in the first half, and was all at sea for Barcelona’s goal.
Fred – 6
He worked hard, covered a lot of ground and won the ball back several times.
Scott McTominay – 7.5
The Scottish midfielder rose to the occasion. He was productive in possession and read the game well. Maybe Mourinho was on to something when he promoted McTominay to the first-team. United’s best player on the night.
Paul Pogba – 5
Some nice touches, but little end product or impact on the game. The French midfielder became less influential as the match progressed, drifting further and further from proceedings.
Diogo Dalot – 5
The young Portuguese full-back was playing as a left winger and it didn’t work. Dalot can’t be faulted for effort, and he’s a talented player, but he’s not a wide forward and should not have been used in the position.
Romelu Lukaku – 4
This was the Lukaku United fans witnessed under Mourinho in big games. The Belgian striker was completely isolated – he had just 19 touches in the game, the fewest of any United outfield player.
Marcus Rashford – 4
He had a few efforts on goal, but some of his decision-making was questionable. Erratic.
Substitutes
Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira – N/A.
Not on long enough to rate.
Barcelona
Marc-Andre ter Stegen – 6.5
Never asked to make a save but excellent with the ball at his feet, the Barcelona goalkeeper was precise with his passing and a calm presence at the back.
Nelson Semedo – 7
The Barca full-back was granted the freedom of the right wing in the first half as United sat deep in a back-five and he made light work of Dalot.
Semedo was an attacking outlet throughout and could have had an assist after playing Suarez in on goal with a clever pass.
Gerrard Pique – 8
A composed performance from the central defender that peaked when he outsprinted Marcus Rashford to recover the ball and cut out a United attack. No player made more clearances in the game (9).
Clement Lenglet – 6.5
The French central defender didn’t have much to do but coped well with United’s limited threat.
Jordi Alba – 6.5
An attacking outlet and neat in possession, the Spanish full-back was also solid defensively.
Sergio Busquets – 7.5
Busquets’ ball over the top of United’s defence started the move that led to his team’s goal and he barely hit a stray pass all night.
Ivan Rakitic – 7
Full of energy and he hardly ever lost the ball, the Croatian midfielder also coped well with United’s physical approach.
Arthur – 6.5
Neat in possession but faded from the game in the second half before being substituted.
Lionel Messi – 7.5
The Barcelona genius set-up Suarez for the opening goal with a wonderful deft pass to the back post. Otherwise, it was a quiet night by his staggering standards.
Luis Suarez – 7.5
He almost scored his first away goal in the Champions League since September 2015, but Suarez’s header was deflected into the net by Shaw.
The Barcelona forward could have scored with a chance in the second half but hit the side-netting when one on one with De Gea. His hold-up play and combinations with Messi were very good though, and he kept the United defence occupied throughout.
Phillipe Coutinho – 6.5
Some nice touches and passes but it was largely a quiet night for the former Liverpool playmaker.
Substitutes
Arturo Vidal – 5
Ran around a lot, jumped into challenges and got booked.
Sergi Roberto & Carles Alena – N/A
Not on long enough to rate.
