In the early hours of Thursday morning, in a Europa League playoff match, Manchester United defeated Barcelona by a score of 2-1 at home, and advanced to the round of 16 with a total score of 4-3 in the two rounds. Tannhäuser's tactical adjustments at half-time were the key to the game, and after the match he called the win the "greatest victory" of his managerial career. Tonight, the draw for the last 16 of the Europa League is about to take place, and Manchester United is expected to avoid Arsenal, Juventus, Sevilla and other tough opponents, so the road to the championship is full of possibilities.
The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw, and both sides continued to show a fierce attacking tempo in this match. Manchester United started the game with a strong attacking desire, however, an unconscious foul by Barcelona captain Busquets in the 18th minute gave away a penalty, which Roberto Lewandowski took, and despite De Gea's save, the ball went into the net, and Barcelona went into the locker room at half-time with a 1-0 lead.
At halftime, Tannhäuser made a tactical change, replacing Anthony Mafios and pushing Rashford to the front line, a change that caught Barcelona off guard. Just two minutes into the second half, Fite scored on a quick counter-attack, and then United continued to use speed and counter-attacks to create a threat. 73 minutes later, United had a succession of shots from the top of the box, culminating in Anthony Maffios pumping in a shot from the chaos. United took the lead and defended solidly to advance to the Round of 16 with a 4-3 aggregate score.
Anthony Mafios' goal was United's 19th substitute goal of the season, a statistic that leads the top five leagues. Tannhäuser said after the game, "This substitution is part of our tactical plan, I can use the speed of players like Anthony and Gancho to penetrate deep into the opposition's defense, they are flexible and brave to break through, which can propel the whole team forward to attack."
Tannhäuser said that beating Barcelona was his greatest victory since he took charge of United: "Barcelona is top of La Liga, 8 points ahead of Real Madrid, we just witnessed how Real Madrid beat Liverpool in a big way, and beating Barcelona is the same as beating any team in the world. We've won some important games since I took over, such as home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, but this is undoubtedly my greatest victory."
The draw for the last 16 of the Europa League will take place tonight, and according to the rules, the teams that advance from the play-offs will only play against the top teams from the group stage, which means that Manchester United will not meet the strongest teams such as Juventus, Roma, Sevilla, and Leverkusen, who are also from the play-offs. In addition, there is also a country/region avoidance mechanism in the round of 16 draw, which means that United will not meet Arsenal, one of the favorites to win the title, either.
Europa League Round of 16 list:
Seeds: St. Kitts and Nevis, Arsenal, Freiburg, Ferencvar, Ferencvaros, Betis, Real Sociedad, Fehrenbadge
Unseeded: Manchester United, Leverkusen, Union Berlin, Juventus, Roma, Benfica, Sevilla, Sacta
