Neil Humphreys: Go for broke against Barcelona, Solskjaer
All-out attack the only chance of a Nou Camp miracle against Barcelona
Manchester United are probably going to lose at the Nou Camp. There's no shame in that.
Most teams do.
Most teams lose to Barcelona wherever they play.
Ernesto Valverde's men have lost only three of their 70 La Liga games since the manager brought balance to the Catalan force like an overly pragmatic Jedi.
BARCELONA | MAN UNITED |
Barcelona are a fine collection of hotel chefs at the omelette counter. They beat whatever is put in front of them.
And they are expected do the same again in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tomorrow morning (Singapore time).
The Red Devils are a goal down from the first leg and struggling for consistency.
As night follows day, as Lionel Messi follows Luis Suarez into the box, Barcelona will prevail.
Unless United go for broke.
That's an all-out, hell-for-leather "Tiger Woods on the Augusta fairway with nothing to lose and only history to gain" kind of going for broke.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has no choice, no other viable option.
Every other road leads to defeat.
Sit deep and sink. Play safe and invite danger. Hold the line and expose the defence.
Every risk-averse endgame finishes in failure.
Containing Barcelona in the Nou Camp is akin to containing a bear in its native forest without a cage, a pointless exercise that will only end in bloody humiliation.
So Solskjaer must go the other way, literally.
Retreat becomes attack.
Like a screaming Han Solo running after a squad of stormtroopers in Star Wars, the Red Devils should chase down superior opponents. Confuse them. Disorientate them.
Do everything possible to sustain the illusion that United are worth running away from.
He has the resources. Just.
Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Romelu Lukaku, Jesse Lingard and Paul Pogba were the players deliberately referenced in their manager's pre-match comments.
Barcelona's defence is hardly porous, but it isn't impregnable either. Better build-up play and a less cautious approach from Solskjaer and United would have scored in the first leg.
The same mistake can't be made twice.
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Barcelona have not lost a Champions League fixture at the Nou Camp for six years
Solskjaer speaks often, perhaps too often, about his spiritual connection to the Champions League miracle of 1999.
But, at some point, the mythical United way must manifest itself beyond having a familiar face in the dugout.
Before their lucky 2-1 win against West Ham United, the Red Devils had suffered four defeats in five games.
They limped through lacklustre displays that might have encouraged comparisons to parked buses had Jose Mourinho still been in charge.
Of course, Solskjaer is working with his predecessor's mercurial squad and the bits and bobs still lying around after Louis van Gaal.
And he's probably going to lose with Mourinho's squad, so he might as well practise what he preaches.
In the first leg, Barcelona soon realised that United lacked ambition, relying on the odd counter-attack and Scott McTominay to maintain their midfield shape.
In the second leg, miracles are likely to be made out wide, with Martial and Lingard stretching the play and feeding Lukaku in the air, or Rashford in any position (the youngster boasts greater range and versatility up front).
Pogba may not be a box-to-box midfielder of the Roy Keane era or a nifty No. 10 impresario, but he should save the identity crisis for another time and focus on the positives.
His tally of 13 goals and nine assists has already ensured the most productive league season of his career.
But he's got to take his domestic form across the continent and support Martial and Lingard's endeavours.
With McTominay capable of handling Sergio Busquets, Pogba has the opportunity to support the attackers ahead of him.
Solskjaer relies on the Paris Saint-Germain victory as a source of inspiration, but there's another game to call upon, one that didn't even feature United.
Earlier this month, Villarreal hosted Barcelona in one of the most exhilarating games of the season.
It finished 4-4. There were eight goals and 19 shots on target as both sides gave up any pretence of defending.
The game was as bonkers as it was brilliant, but the goal-fest also provided a handy template for United.
Engage in a madcap shoot-out and hope to be the last man standing.
All-out attack is the underdogs' only shot at glory.
Solskjaer knows he may not soar again at the Nou Camp, but he can at least fall with style.
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