How Barcelona broke Manchester United and the Champions League curse to advance to the semi-final

And just like that, after four years of quarter-final exits, Barcelona are through to the semi-finals of the Champions League once again. Even though it might have been shaky and more complicated than was predicted at first, the Catalans dispatched Manchester United and sealed the deal at the Camp Nou with a convincing 3-0 victory.

Lionel Messi made the difference and was once again Barcelona’s cheat code in completing this colossal achievement. But the visitors’ cameo appearance in the heart of Catalunya could’ve been much more than just that were it not for some individual blunders and missed chances that might haunt them, and their fans, for days to come.

Still, Barcelona are deservedly through as they were the better side across the two legs and they now await their next opponent in the chase for this illustrious trophy. But how exactly have they got past the Red Devils? This tactical analysis will try to answer that question.

Lineups

Barcelona (4-3-3)

Starting XI: Ter Stegen  Sergi, Piqué, Lenglet, Alba  Rakitić, Busquets, Arthur  Messi, Suárez, Coutinho

Bench: Cillessen, Semedo, Umtiti, Vidal, Aleñá, Malcom, Dembélé

Coach: Ernesto Valverde

Manchester United (4-1-4-1)

Starting XI: De Gea  Jones, Lindelöf, Smalling, Young  McTominay, Fred, Pogba  Lingard, Rashford, Martial

Bench: Romero, Dalot, Andreas, Matić, Mata, Alexis, Lukaku

Coach: Ole Gunnar Solskjær

Barcelona’s setup

Having rested the entirety of his standard lineup, Ernesto Valverde had his first-choice troops at full strength and ready to wreak some havoc at the Camp Nou. Still, even though his choice of personnel is somewhat predictable, the usual suspects caused us headaches in predicting it.

Sergi Roberto turned out to be the chosen one at right-back, benching Nélson Semedo who was one yellow card away from suspension. This was a strategic decision for multiple reasons. This way the Portuguese speedster was guaranteed to be available for the trip to Anfield in the semi-finals, and Roberto’s attacking skill set suited Barcelona in their overall gameplan.

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