Barcelona’s social media post hilariously backfires after Europa League defeat to Manchester United
Pne of Barcelona's social media posts hilariously backfired after Manchester United's 2-1 UEFA Europa League win against them on Thursday (23 February).
Before the game, the Catalan giants' Twitter account posted a tweet with a picture of Old Trafford and captioned it:
"It’s time to conquer "The theatre of dreams".
The first leg of the round-of-32 encounter ended in a 2-2 draw at the Spotify Camp Nou. With the away goals rule scrapped in UEFA competitions, Manchester United's goals in Catalonia did not carry any added importance.
It’s time to conquer “The theatre of dreams” https://t.co/xXyZurq0Er
They still needed to beat Barcelona at Old Trafford if they wanted to qualify for the last-16 stage in regular time. That's what they did, despite falling behind to a Robert Lewandowski penalty in the 18th minute.
Second-half goals from Fred and Antony handed manager Erik ten Hag's side a famous win in M16. In a nutshell, Barca's plan to 'conquer' the Theater of Dreams failed magnificently.
The Catalan giants have beaten Manchester United six times in their 15 meetings across competitions. Just one of those victories came at Old Trafford when they won 1-0 in April 2019.
They won 4-0 on aggregate and advanced to the UEFA Champions League semi-final that season. The La Liga outfit also beat Manchester United in the two most high-profile encounters between the two sides - the Champions League finals in 2009 and 2011.
This campaign, however, has gone in United's favor. The Europa League is coincidentally the last piece of silverware the Red Devils laid their hands on, doing so in 2017 under Jose Mourinho.
Old Trafford, you delivered.
That was on another level ❤️
#MUFC || #UEL
Barca can now shift their focus to winning La Liga for the first time since the 2018-19 campaign. They have an eight-point lead at the top of the table after 22 games.
Erik ten Hag happy with Manchester United midfielder's contribution in Barcelona win
Fred's time at Manchester United has been sprinkled with highs and lows. Many have questioned his ability to be a first-team regular for the Red Devils.
Yet, he has continued to be an important part of their team for the past four-and-a-half years. He has registered five goals and four assists in 34 games across competitions under manager Erik ten Hag.
His most important contribution came against Barcelona in the second leg at Old Trafford, where he scored a 47th-minute equalizer. His right-footed shot wasn't hit in the cleanest possible manner, but the run he made to get there caught Barca off guard.
What a magical night. What an incredible energy. This is United! Thanks God! https://t.co/P1BPR1w1MA
After the game, manager Erik ten Hag said (h/t Mirror):
"What he can do really well is make runs in-behind at the right moment, the timing. He can get behind the midfielders of Barcelona and that was part of our game plan in Barcelona and again now."