Tie in the balance as Barca and Man Utd play out thrilling draw

Marcus Rashford was on the scoresheet again at the Nou Camp.

Manchester United's Marcus Rashford celebrates scoring their side's first goal of the game at the Camp Nou. Picture: Isabel Infantes/PA Wire.

BARCELONA 2 

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 

MANCHESTER United will go into the second leg of this Europa League play-off with the balance of a dramatic tie having tilted in their favour but Erik ten Hag will believe his side should have gained a much more substantial advantage in the Nou Camp.

Having fallen behind to Marcos Alonso’s header early in the second half, United responded by levelling through Marcus Rashford’s 14th goal in 16 games before going ahead when Barcelona defender Jules Kounde diverted Rashford’s cross into his own goal.

At that point, Ten Hag’s side were in control but they were caught out by Raphinha’s cross-cum-shot in the 76th minute. A draw at the Nou Camp is hardly a disappointing result but for Ten Hag there was the underlying frustration that his side had spurned a succession of good chances that should have delivered a first victory for the club in this stadium. This, though, was a performance that showed how far they have come under Ten Hag this season.

Not that Barcelona didn’t have their own hard luck stories to tell. These two teams are more used to meeting each other at the business end of European competition. Their recent difficulties meant they were instead contesting for a place in the last 16 of the undervalued Europa League but this was an encounter that was worthy of their reputation as two of the continent’s most decorated clubs.

A high-tempo game see-sawed and ended with Barcelona feeling aggrieved they had not managed to establish a lead ahead of the return at Old Trafford when the ball ricocheted off David De Gea’s post during one of a number of late scrambles. The home side also felt they should have had a penalty when the ball struck Fred’s arm while United believed Rashford had been brought down by Kounde inside the box.

The tone was set in a first half when Barca keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen made three fine saves, although Wout Weghorst should have done much better than fire his shot close to the German after being sent clear.

The breakthrough, however, came from the home side five minutes after the restart when Alonso headed home from a corner. Rashford replied six minutes later, collecting a pass from Fred before beating Ter Stegen at the near post. The forward then created the confusion in the home penalty area with a powerful low cross that forced Kounde’s error, but Raphinha denied United victory.