Man United must raise their game for Barcelona

Manchester United must raise their game for the visit of Barcelona in a first-leg, quarterfinal clash in the UEFA Champions League. The teams will meet at Old Trafford on Wednesday, 10 April 2019, kick-off at 21h00 CAT.

United earned their place in the final eight of the competition thanks to a dramatic triumph over French Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16.

The Red Devils lost the first leg 0-2 at Old Trafford, but secured a 3-1 win in the return game at Parc des Princes in Paris, with Romelu Lukaku scoring two goals before Marcus Rashford netted a controversial penalty in injury time at the end of the game. The tie ended 3-3, but the English side advanced on away goals.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who was recently confirmed as United’s permanent manager, will hope to see a major step up in performance from his side: they were last in action on Wednesday last week, where they suffered a 2-1 loss away to Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League clash – their third defeat in four matches since the trip to Paris.

The teams have met in 11 European matches, with Barcelona claiming four wins compared to United’s three, while three games have been drawn.

Their most recent meeting was in the final of the Champions League in May 2011, with the Blaugrana winning 3-1 at Wembley Stadium thanks to goals from Pedro, Lionel Messi and David Villa.

Key match stats

Manchester United v Barcelona – Head-to-head, European competitions

Matches played 11

United wins 3

Barca wins 4

Draws 4