Spanish football pundit Guillem Balague has given his verdict on Barcelona’s defeat to Manchester United.
His takeaway is that this match proved Barcelona ‘are not ready’ for the top level of European football.
Already eliminated from the Champions League after a poor group stage showing, the Spanish side have been knocked out in the first knockout round of the Europa League.
Manchester United won 2-1 at Old Trafford with second half goals from Fred and Antony.
Balague reaction
The pundit told BBC Sport: “This was always going to be a famous victory or a famous defeat.
“The question for whichever team that lost was going to be “are we ready for the next level” and for Barcelona they just don’t have the consistency to reach the next level.”
Barcelona are top of La Liga but this counted for nothing at a packed and charged up Old Trafford.
Peter Schmeichel praises United
Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel weighed in with his reaction to the run the team are on right now.
He praised manager Erik ten Hag’s management as being key to turning the club’s fortunes around, and he has been ‘wowed’ by the impact the boss has made.
Schmeichel said: “It has taken 10 years to get to this point, for me this season anything can really happen. Manchester United can win everything or nothing but we have seen the progress.
“Every situation has been dealt with properly by Erik ten Hag, like a good manager should. Like vintage Sir Alex Ferguson I am sitting here thinking “wow, we have got the right man.”
Schmeichel is right in that irrespective of the result of the final on Sunday, Manchester United are heading in the right direction.
This win over Barcelona was a statement, and while it underlined the Spanish side’s problems, it served to highlight the quality United possess.
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