An amazing statistic has emerged online this evening, showcasing the lack of progression made by Manchester United on the personnel front over the last 8 years.
Barcelona vs Man United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men travelled to the Camp Nou tonight, for the 2nd-leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie with Barcelona.
Hosts Barca headed into proceedings in firm control of the tie, having emerged from Old Trafford last week with a precious 1-0 win.
As such, ahead of kick-off in Catalunya, the Spanish champions were viewed as clear favourites to secure their place in the competition’s final-4.
And, when the 90 minutes were said and done, not only did Barca advance, but they did so in some style.
Messi at the double
It took the hosts just 20 minutes to put the tie to bed as a contest, after Lionel Messi fired in an early double.
The Argentine attacker opened the game’s scoring with a trademark piece of individual brilliance, capitalizing on a mistake from Ashley Young to rifle home a wonderful effort from the edge of the box:
Lionel Messi 😱🤯
We are blessed to watch him play football 🙏
Another amazing goal… pic.twitter.com/4wbZ7uECuP
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 16, 2019
And it was 2-0 just minutes later, as Messi again found the net, this time with the help of an absolute howler from David De Gea.
A relatively tame right-footed effort from the Barca captain somehow managed to squirm under the body of the United shot-stopper, in a real moment to forget for De Gea:
United’s defensive woes
As such, Manchester United’s European campaign has come to an end for another season.
The Red Devils’ sub-standard squad, particularly defensively, was laid bare for all to see tonight, with Barcelona’s rake of attacking talent having made short work of the likes of Ashley Young and Phil Jones.
And, as showcased by an incredible statistic garnering plenty of attention online, the struggles of the United backline should not come as much of a surprise, considering all 4 of Young, Jones, Chris Smalling and David De Gea, 3 of whom have long been considered liabilities, were also plying their trade for the Manchester giants upon their elimination from the Champions League in 2011.
That’s 8 years ago…