Luke Shaw’s own goal leaves Man United facing another Champions League salvage operation

Manchester United was beaten 1-0 by a sub-par Barcelona in the first leg of their quarter-final meeting at Old Trafford and will need another famous result at Camp Nou if they are to reach the last four of the Champions League.

Luke Shaw’s first-half own goal handed Barcelona the advantage on 12 minutes when he deflected Luis Suarez’s header into his own net, with the goal confirmed following a VAR review.

United responded well to the early setback, halting Barca’s dominance on the ball, but their cause was undermined by a toothless attacking display which failed to yield a single shot on target in the Champions League for the first time since 2005.

8 – No team has scored more own goals in Champions League history than Manchester United, with Luke Shaw’s tonight their eighth in the competition. Hapless. #MUNBAR— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 10, 2019

The talk had been that Barcelona might opt for a safety-first approach, featuring Arturo Vidal as an extra midfielder, but the Chilean was only among the substitutes, with Philippe Coutinho joining Messi and Luis Suarez in an attack on his return to England.

It took just 10 minutes for Barcelona to start the move that would end with the opener, though it took 48 passes and more than two minutes before the ball found the net.

Manchester United 0-1 FC Barcelona Luke Shaw (12′) [OG] pic.twitter.com/7dmm4VyLih— Gunfighter (@Jony_Gunman) April 10, 2019

Having overcome a two-goal deficit to knock out Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16, United need to produce another heroic comeback to progress to the semi-finals when they travel to the Nou Camp on April 16.

Lionel Messi gathered Sergio Busquet’s ball over the top and cleverly crossed to the back post for Suarez, whose header deflected in off Shaw. The goal was initially ruled out for offside but the relief inside Old Trafford was short-lived as a brief consultation with VAR found no infringement and the goal was allowed to stand.

Will Manchester united see a comeback like they did on PSG?

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