It ends square at Camp Nou

Barcelona’s Raph-id response unit saves point

Barcelona and Manchester United played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in their UEFA Europa League knockout round playoff first leg. While disappointed after netting the opener, Barcelona still extended their unbeaten run to 17 consecutive matches.

Marcus Rashford has now scored 22 goals across all competitions this season, equalling his best single-season tally in his senior club career.

He’s only failed to score in three of his last 16 matches.

Barcelona had great momentum in the build-up to kick-off, leading La Liga by eight points after a huge turnaround under Xavi. Equally impressive was the sight of a packed-out Camp Nou, and this helped Barcelona start the stronger, with Robert Lewandowski forcing David de Gea into a smart save early on. As for United, the in-form Marcus Rashford was clearly Barcelona’s main target and found himself heavily marked in the opening minutes.

Barcelona are now unbeaten in each of their last 17 games across all competitions:

WWWWDWWDWWWWWWWWD

The streak continues.

It was obvious that neither side was content with the draw as the tempo refused to slow. Rashford did his best to tilt the contest once more, though it was United’s backline that threatened to bend late on, with De Gea forced into several impressive stops.

Ultimately, both sides can reflect on missed chances, but neutral fans certainly won’t complain, with this encounter surely going down as one of the Europa League classics ahead of next week’s second leg at Old Trafford.

Raphinha’s game by numbers vs. Man Utd:

61 touches

8 duels won

6 shots

5 crosses

5x possession won

5 touches in opp. box

4 tackles

3 shots on target

3 take-ons

1 chance created

1 goal

1 assist

Disappointed to be subbed off early.

No player won more duels (7), made more tackles (4) or completed more take-ons (3) than Raphinha in the first half vs. Man Utd.

Doing his defensive work.