"Have to be on their toes" - Manchester United legend urges players to be wary of €50m Barcelona star ahead of Europa League fixture

Manchester United legend Denis Irwin has urged players to be wary of Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski ahead of their UEFA Europa League clash.

The Blaugrana will take on the Red Devils in the first leg of the Europa League Round of 32 at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday (February 16).

Ahead of the high-profile fixture, iconic former Manchester United full-back Irwin has warned his former club regarding Barca's Lewandowski.

The Poland international has been at his devastating best since his big-money (€45 million) switch from Bayern Munich in the summer. The two-time 'The Best FIFA Men's Player' winner has scored 23 goals and provided six assists in 27 games across competitions this season.

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Irwin has urged his former club to stay focused to stop the forward, who has been one of the greatest strikers of the modern era. He told Manchester United's official website:

“There’s no doubt that the centre-halves, whoever plays, are well aware of his capabilities. He’s had a fantastic career. He was brilliant at Bayern Munich and it took him a long time to get the plaudits that he deserved.”

He added:

“He’s doing it again at Barcelona and playing very well. He’s got great experience - he’s one of those players that it doesn't matter what age, he will always score goals."

The seven-time Premier League winner has highlighted that Manchester United defenders have to be at their best to now allow Barcelona too many chances. He added:

“Our defenders, particularly the two centre-halves, will have to be on their toes. But Barcelona as a whole are a great attacking team, they score plenty of goals. Whoever plays in that defence will have to play as a unit and make sure that we don’t concede too many chances.”

Xavi set to trust Barcelona star in master plan to stop Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez has reportedly made a master plan to stop red-hot Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford ahead of their clash.

Xavi has identified Rashford as the biggest threat to his backline. As reported by Sport Witness via AS, the Blaugrana boss is set to use Ronald Araujo to deal with the in-form England international.

The Englishman has been in blistering form this season for the Red Devils, particularly since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He has scored 21 goals and provided eight assists in 34 games across competitions this campaign.

Marcus Rashford’s season so far:

🏟️ 34 games
⚽️ 21 goals
🅰️ 8 assists

World-class numbers. 🧑🏾‍🦱👈🏾 https://t.co/qiFHae8IpV

Barca manager Xavi is believed to be most concerned with the flying left winger. He plans to use Uruguay international Araujo to stop the England international.