One wonders when it truly dawned on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer the task that his Manchester United side will face on Wednesday night. Maybe it was after 86 minutes of watching Barcelona play Atletico Madrid. Up until then, with the scoreline level, the Norwegian appeared to have enjoyed himself, all chronicled through Mike Phelan’s Twitter feed. In the space of two minutes, though, his mood likely changed.
Firstly, Luis Suarez broke the deadlock with a right-footed strike from 20 yards. Then, seconds later, Lionel Messi pulled off a trademark dribble and finish. The thought of those two against Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Ashley Young has surely given Solskjaer some sleepless nights since his trip to Camp Nou. But for all the obvious brilliance of Messi and Suarez there is another player who could feasibly do just as much damage to Man Utd.
TOPSHOT – Barcelona’s Argentinian forward Lionel Messi (L) celebrates with Barcelona’s Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez and Barcelona’s Spanish defender Jordi Alba after scoring during the Spanish Copa del Rey (King’s Cup) quarter-final second leg football match between Barcelona and Sevilla at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on January 30, 2019. (Photo by LLUIS GENE / AFP) (Photo credit should read LLUIS GENE/AFP/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – MARCH 13: Ashley Young of Manchester United looks dejected in defeat after the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg match between Manchester United and Sevilla FC at Old Trafford on March 13, 2018 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
Up against a Man Utd side that has a real weakness on the right side of defence, Alba could do some real damage on Wednesday night. Young is notorious for being caught out of position, too high up the pitch for a player in his position. He is, after all, a winger by trade. This is something that could be brutally exposed by Alba.
Stopping Alba must be a priority for United, but on the basis of their defensive personnel it’s difficult to see how they can possibly do that. Solskjaer could demand that Young stays back, limiting the space for Barcelona to exploit in behind, but that would restrict Man Utd’s potency on the counter attack. The tactical balance will be a tough one to strike.
Diogo Dalot might be inexperienced, with the Portuguese having only just turned 20, but his defensive adequacy could make him a better option than Young to take on Barcelona. Young just can’t be counted on when faced with opposition wide men willing to take him on. Too often it results in the 33-year-old losing his composure and his cool – see his recent sending off against Wolves.
BARCELONA, SPAIN – OCTOBER 24: Jordi Alba of Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the Group B match of the UEFA Champions League between FC Barcelona and FC Internazionale at Camp Nou on October 24, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)
Solskjaer might just have to hope that Alba has an off night, which doesn’t happen very often. Only Messi himself has made more assists than Alba for Barcelona this season, with the left back averaging just as many key passes per game as Suarez. He is an attacking hub and is crucial to the way Valverde opens up space for players, like Messi and Suarez, who would otherwise be man-marked by every team they faced.
Barcelona have so many players to hurt Manchester United. They could rest both Messi and Suarez and still have enough firepower to get past Solskjaer’s side. But Alba is one player the Catalans can’t do without. He is built into the very structure of Barca as a team. And he too can do significant damage, particularly to a side like United.
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