February 24, (THEWILL) – Manchester United have secured a spot in the UEFA Europa League last 16 after a 2-1 win against Barcelona at Old Trafford, sealing a 4-3 aggregate victory.
Despite Robert Lewandowski’s early penalty putting Barcelona ahead, United’s Brazilian duo Fred and Antony delivered the goals that determined the outcome.
The match saw Bruno Fernandes fail to take advantage of an early opportunity to give the hosts the lead as Marc-Andre ter Stegen was able to stop his shot from nestling in the net. A soft penalty given to Barcelona resulted in Lewandowski scoring his 25th goal this season for La Blaugrana.
However, United’s second-half revival, which saw goals from Fred and Antony swing the momentum in favour of the Red Devils, led to a rattled Barcelona and ultimately a victory for the home side. Barcelona attempted to mount a comeback, but United’s Raphael Varane was in the right place to block a potential equaliser on the line.
United will now turn their attention to the EFL Cup final against Newcastle United, where they hope to end their six-year silverware drought. Meanwhile, Barcelona will resume their La Liga title surge when they face Almeria on the same day.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
