UEFA Champions League: 2 Changes Manchester United must make in their starting XI for their return fixture against Barcelona
Barcelona were expected to dominate Manchester United in the Champions League quarterfinal game held at Old Trafford recently. However, it was the home club which had an upper hand in major parts of the game although they conceded an early goal to the Catalan Club courtesy Luke Shaw's own-goal. Barcelona did win the game despite Manchester United's good performance in their own backyard.
The Red Devils must yet again repeat one of their extraordinary "away" performances they have displayed this season to go past Barcelona to the semi-finals of the Champions League. To make that happen, Manchester United must look to correct the mistakes which they made in the first game. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer must be wary of the areas in the squad which might need a change.
On that note, here are two changes that must be made to the Manchester United starting XI to have a good night at Camp Nou next week:
Phil Jones for Ashley Young
Ashley Young was definitely one of the poor performers for Manchester United in their game against Barcelona. Captaining the club and playing as a right wing-back, the veteran was unsuccessful in delivering effective crosses into the penalty box which could have helped his team score a goal. Most of Young's attempts from the right-flank were off-target and disturbed the momentum of Manchester United's domination. He was also a bit vulnerable at the back some times. The best possible way for the club could be to bring in a more solid defender in Phil Jones to the starting XI and have Diago Dalot and Luke Shaw play as the right wing-back and left wing-back respectively. It could also be a good move to hand over the captaincy band to David De Gea or Paul Pogba for the return fixture.
Anthony Martial for Romelu Lukaku
Although Romelu Lukaku was instrumental in Manchester United's comeback win against PSG a few weeks ago, the Belgian has been in a rough patch in the last few games. He did not have a great game against Barcelona too and failed to utilize any of the chances provided by the impressive midfield of Manchester United. Lukaku is definitely an ominous threat on his day but it could be a good idea if the Red Devils could bring Anthony Martial into the starting XI and use the Belgian as a substitute. This way, United can be dangerous with their counter-attacks which were in many in the first game. Also, Romelu Lukaku can always make a big impact as a substitute and Barca might have to remember this during the course of the game.