Manchester United did the hard task of coming from behind to beat Barcelona at Old Trafford on Thursday night to secure their passage to the next round of the UEFA Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate win.

After a pulsating first leg at Camp Nou, that saw both teams play out the 2-2 draw last week, Barcelona started on the front foot scoring first through a Robert Lewandowski’s penalty after 18 minutes of play.

However, Manchester United got back on track in the second half through Fred after just two minutes. Brazilian forward Antony then put Erik Ten Hag’s side in the lead in the 73rd minute to secure the victory and pile more European misery on Barcelona for the second season running.

Manchester United’s captain Bruno Fernandes attributed the victory to the team’s belief to win even at a difficult period.

“The belief of the team is always there, and the belief of the fans is amazing. They pushed us through difficult moments for great comebacks. It is a great result, but now we have a big game on Sunday. You can feel between them and us; there is something special; Old Trafford was bouncing, that is why we got the result. When we got the goal right at the start of the second half, we knew they were going to be right behind us.” Fernandes said.

Manchester United are still in the reckoning for the quadruple with the result as they are five points from the top of the Premier League. The team will have the chance to lift silverware with the EFL Cup final on Sunday against Newcastle at Wembley stadium.

They will face West Ham in the next round of the FA Cup after that on March 1. Barcelona will then have to focus on the Copa Del Rey and La Liga for the trophy ware with Real Madrid waiting in the semi-finals, although they have an 8-point advantage in La Liga.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu