Manchester United staged a memorable second-half comeback to reach the last 16 of the Europa League, knocking out Barcelona in the process.
Brazilian duo Fred and Antoni, who came on as half-time substitutes, both drilled home first-time shots in front of an excited Stratford End.
It was a victory that looked unlikely at half-time with Barcelona leading thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s 18th-minute penalty after Bruno Fernandes’ pointless foul on Alejandro Balde.
But the arrival of Antony to struggle ahead of Wout Weghost turned the tide of the tie as he fueled United’s attacks, which the La Liga leaders were unable to deal with.
Erik ten Hague’s side now head to Wembley, where they will look to collect their first piece of silverware since 2017 when they take on Newcastle in the EFL Cup final.
For Barcelona, it was the first time they had crashed out of European competition without reaching the last 16 since 1998-1999, which was not what president John Laporta had in mind when he pulled all those economic levers last year.
It was also Barcelona’s first defeat since October and ended an 18-match unbeaten run.
After the match, ten Hague said: “It was a fantastic night. I think it’s fantastic when you can beat Barcelona, eight points ahead of Real Madrid in La Liga and we saw Real Madrid play this week. Is.
“A great performance and we have to take this season with us that we can win games.”
He added: “I think we have great personalities starting with David, Rafa, Lecha, Casemiro, Bruno, winning types.
“Everybody has such a strong belief in this team and fight in this team and you can see it with the subs, they bring energy and quality and a different dynamic to the games. All the subs not only in this game, Performed brilliantly.”
Fred the Red Menace
Fred has faced plenty of detractors since his £47m move to United from Shakhtar Donetsk in 2018.
Chances are Christian Eriksen wouldn’t even have started the game if he hadn’t been ruled out with an injury until the end of April.
Still, as Ten Hague admits, anyone capable of playing regularly for Brazil has to be a good player and this was one of those occasions when he proved it.
Fred’s goal was a classy effort as he darted into space on the edge of the area, unspotted by Barca’s Dutch midfielder Frankie de Jong, who United spent so long trying to sign in the summer.
When De Jong came on to press his opponent after Fernandez’s brilliant through ball, he was too late to stop Fred drilling in an equaliser.
The goal changed the contest. Fred then used his energy to break Barcelona’s counter-attacks, making surging runs that unnerved the visitors and even making simple passes, which he often got wrong.
Fred also followed up with Alejandro Garnacho before Anthony’s third effort netted his second and allowed United to join Arsenal in the last 16 draw.
Whatever happens, the first leg will be at home on March 9.
Ten Hague’s decisive half-time switch
Ten Hague has praised Wieghorst for his industry but at this level – apart from a Champions League game name – he sees him for what he is, filling the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s unscheduled exit. An emergency signature was brought in at relatively low cost. The proper one comes next summer.
Anthony Martial’s continued injury absence means Wieghorst has to play a more prominent role than Ten Hag envisioned and that weakens his squad as a whole.
It was no surprise that Antony replaced him at half-time, nor should it have resulted in such a marked improvement in the hosts’ performance.
There were still moments of panic, however, when De Gea pulled off a fine save to deny Jules Conde when Jadon Sancho failed to track the France defender and deflected Raphael Varane Lewandowski’s shot away from danger in injury time. Diya when he was probably coming in.
But it was Ten Hague and his coaching staff who were celebrating at the final whistle.
The Dutchman has clearly turned the fortunes around at a club that was going nowhere fast 12 months ago, although he knows he needs some silverware to really indicate he is on the right track.
