When Manchester United and Barcelona collide, it usually is a game with high stakes. Two giants of the game, a fixture between these two generates a lot of hype, is loaded with action and for the players – an opportunity to prove themselves against the big names, and possibly even write their name in folklore.
Big games such as this bring out the best in players. They step up to the plate and the extra-effort they put in makes all the difference in the end. Over the years, this fixture has seen a whole host of big names make their mark: Messi, Rooney, Scholes, Villa, and many more.
But there weren’t a lot of heroes in the match at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
With the bags of attacking talent available, it’s stupefying to know that Barca took home a 1-0 lead thanks to a Luke Shaw own goal.
For United though, the biggest disappointment was the lack of a goal, having put in a gritty performance. Majority of the Man United fans blamed Ashley Young for being unable to deliver anything good from the right hand side and incredible stats (like the one below) prove the same.
Tonight, Ashley Young lost possession a total of 32 times and attempted 11 crosses with 0 meeting their target. No player on the pitch lost possession more or had a worse crossing rate than him. pic.twitter.com/hOrObBQ3J3
Absolutely appalling. Playing as a right wing-back and not being able to deliver one pin-point cross or complete one dribble is an absolute abomination.
Fans totally lost their temper at the disgraceful performance of their captain. Sloppy on the ball, delaying passes on a quick counter, over or under-hitting crosses and haphazard while defending: these are common phrases associated with Young (not just for this game). Sickening.
Time and again, fans have been calling for Young to be shown the door, but earlier this season he signed a one-year extension. With good performances few and far between and consistently getting on the nerves of United fans, the Man Utd captain needs to step up, big time. Or to the delight of most supporters, leave.
With the world being introduced to the first ever picture of a black hole, it’s almost poetic that Young’s horrendous performance coincided with that; given that Young was the “black hole” through which all of United’s attacking chances disappeared.
In a game this important, the abomination of a performance that Young produced is inadmissible. While McTominay and Fred were brilliant, Young produced a horror show. Will United address the Young issue in the summer?
