Anti Rashford collapse, Xavi suffers a huge blow as United gets more advantage

In the pre-match press conference to the Europa League fixture between Barcelona and Manchester United last night, Barca's manager Xavi Hernandez was quite relaxed when answering questions about how to stop Marcus Rashford, revealing he had a plan already for it.

He went on to state that his team had an Anti-Rashford plan, which was a similar plan to what was applied to Vinicius Jr during the last El Clasico encounter. Xavi tasked one of his top players, Ronald Araujo to man mark Marcus Rashford.

It provided to be a great idea after the first that saw Rashford snatch at his chances in the first half of the game. The England striker was fiercely closed down by the Uruguayan defender much to the frustration of fans but this took a different turn in the second half.

Marcus Rashford couldn't be denied his opportunity as he scored to draw United level on the night and destroy the Anti-Rashford plan. He played a crucial part in getting United’s second goal of the night which was a Barca own goal. The game ended 2-2 on the night.

Which advantage does United have ahead of the reverse fixture?

Though Ten Hag was frustrated that his team could get the victory they wanted, nonetheless they received a huge advantage as two Barcelona starters will miss the return leg at Old Trafford. Pedri picked up an injury that has ruled him out of the second leg and Gavi will also miss the game due to suspension after picking up another yellow card last night. United on the other hand will be having several stars return for the second leg.