Manchester United 4-3-3
David de Gea Helpless for Barça’s opener and later made an impressive save from a Coutinho piledriver. 7
Ashley Young Chopped down Coutinho and wasted one break by overhitting a pass to Rashford. 6
▶ Chris Smalling Often found himself marking Luis Suárez who is always a nightmare to corral. A physical presence. 7
Victor Lindelöf Coutinho bought one easy foul off him but he was willing to launch attacks by stepping forward. 6
Luke Shaw Struggled when Messi ran at him. Suárez’s header went in off him when he might have done better. 6
Fred One awful free-kick at the Barça wall but improved after the break, with one fine ball to Rashford. 6
Scott McTominay Was one of United’s better performers, showing energy, initiative and good distribution. 7
Paul Pogba Split the visitors open with a pass into Rashford and carried a positive intent with the ball. 7
Diogo Dalot Was better when racing forward than when Barça came at him. Missed a chance but is maturing. 6
Romelu Lukaku Surprise selection ahead of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial – but often wasted possession. 4
Marcus Rashford Was brighter than his strike partner, but missed a golden chance in the second half. 7
Subs
Anthony Martial (for Lukaku 68) 7; Andreas Pereira (for Rashford 85) 6; Jesse Lingard (for Dalot 74) 6
Barcelona 4-3-3
Marc-André ter Stegen Did not have a save to make in the first half despite sustained United pressure. Distribution could be faulty 6
Nélson Semedo Harried by Rashford and Dalot when Solskjær’s men squeezed around the Barcelona area. 6
Gerard Piqué Visiting his former club, was shaky under the high ball but kept pace with Rashford when needed. 6
Clément Lenglet Centre-back was hardly the surest of presences when defending against the busy Rashford. 7
Jordi Alba More than once was guilty of dismal play-acting that did not fool Young or McTominay. 4
Ivan Rakitic Had a quiet opening half though one smooth acceleration into United’s territory showed his class. 6
Sergio Busquets Dropped McTominay for early free-kick, booked for pulling back Pogba. Niggling fouls continued. 4
Arthur Melo Brazilian had McTominay for company as part of a midfield which Messi joined at times. 6
▶ Lionel Messi Dropped deep on occasion and had eyes in back of his head to find Suárez for the decisive goal. 8
Luis Suárez Floated across the front line and enjoyed his header – via Shaw – for winner, gesturing to the Stretford End. 7
Philippe Coutinho Apart from a first-half shot that drew a sharp De Gea save, he was anonymous before being replaced. 5
Subs Aleix Vidal (Coutinho 66) 5; Sergi Roberto (Arthur 66) 6; Carles Aleñá (Busquets 90) n/a
