Manchester United 2-1 Barcelona (3-2): Old Trafford added to European disappointments
Barça led but were beaten in England on Thursday as they exited the Europa League
Brazilian duo Fred and Antony were on target as Manchester United came from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 at Old Trafford and advance to the last 16 of the Europa League.
Following last week's 2-2 draw at Camp Nou, Robert Lewandowski had given Barca the lead in the tie from the penalty spot in the first half.
But United roared back after the break, with Fred levelling early in the second half and substitute Antony grabbing the winner in the 73rd minute.
It was another disappointment in Europe for Barça, who have now fallen short in both the Champions League and the Europa League in each of the past two seasons.
Xavi Hernandez's side will look for the positives, though, such as they fact they were in the game until the very end in Manchester, even if they were ultimately not goof enough.
They have also already won the Spanish Supercopa, lead LaLiga by eight points and have a Copa del Rey semifinal to come against Real Madrid.
"The only positive is that on Sunday we have a game, we focus on Almeria, then on the semifinal of the Copa del Rey on Thursday (against Madrid) and on two competitions that remain, which are very important fo the club," Xavi said.
Bruno Fernandes saw an early chance saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen but, despite missing Ousmane Dembele, Pedri and Gavi, it was Barça who dominated the first half.
Lewandowski opened the scoring from the spot in the 18th minute after Bruno had brought down Alejandro Balde.
Barça will lament not scoring a second. Sergi Roberto was guilty of missing their best chance having picked up a poor pass by goalkeeper David de Gea.
The game swung in the second half. Antony replaced Wout Weghorst and United were transformed. They played with more intensity and the result was immediate.
Franck Kessie lost a 50-50 ball and Bruno passed to Fred, whose first touch was good and his second, off his shin, found the back of the net.
United's tails were up and Barça struggled to deal with their pace and directness.
The Blaugrana had their moments -- De Gea saved brilliantly from Jules Kounde's header -- but the home side were on top and took the lead inside the final 20 minutes.
Barca failed to clear the danger and Antony produced a fine finish on his favoured left foot when the ball dropped to him just inside the area.
Ferran Torres and Ansu Fati came on for Barça but they lacked a spark in the final third and, despite pushing until the end, it was another tough night in Europe.
