Manchester United vs Barcelona: Is return to Champions League elite built on stable foundations?

United may be in the last eight of this season’s Champions League and dining back at that top table, but they are up against it at Old Trafford this evening

Twice already this season, an established member of European football’s elite has arrived at Old Trafford. Twice they have left victorious. Twice they taught their hosts a lesson in what is required to compete at this rarefied level. And yet, it is now the quarter-final stage of the Champions League and Manchester United are still standing.

The defeat to Juventus in the group stages of this competition back in October exposed the deficiencies of this United squad like few others before it, deficiencies that Jose Mourinho had spent his summer complaining about. It appeared to confirm that his side had far to travel before they could be considered a contender at this level again.

A few weeks later though, a last-gasp 2-1 victory in Turin, scoring twice after being outplayed for all of 86 minutes, turned group stage qualification from a possibility to a probability. Those three points ultimately made the difference when it came to reaching in the last-16. Were it a knock-out tie, United would have qualified on away goals.

It was the same story against Paris Saint-Germain, only more extraordinary. For the first time in 107 attempts, a team progressed from a European Cup knockout tie after losing 2-0 at home in the first leg. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side did so despite being outclassed for the majority in both games and practically pummelled into the pitch for the first half in Paris.

Will this last-eight tie against Barcelona follow the same pattern? Or will it be the proverbial bucket of cold water, poured over any pretensions this first Champions League quarter-final in five years for United is a meaningful return to Europe’s top table? The latter, surely, is most likely.

This is Barcelona, after all, manys’ second-favourites to win this competition outright behind Manchester City. But unlike Pep Guardiola’s side, they will not have to balance their European commitments with a demanding domestic title race. The Catalans all but wrapped up La Liga with their 2-0 victory over a 10-man Atletico Madrid at the weekend.

And though there is some merit in the argument that this Barcelona side is more vulnerable now than in the past, they can still call upon the greatest player of all-time. Lionel Messi cuts a particularly focused figure around the club at the moment, aware that three Champions League titles is a meagre return from his prime years.

It is a factor that makes the chances of a third United upset of this Champions League campaign that little bit more remote. Their form does not help either. Three defeats in the four has taken the shine off Solskjaer’s appointment and it may not be a coincidence that they came just as he was at his apex, after that night in Paris.

And even after several memorable European nights already this season, several members of United’s squad will have been left wanting more. Romelu Lukaku’s agent last week suggested that his client’s future may lie away from Old Trafford, with the comments emerging just as hopes of playing Champions League football next season appear in doubt.

A player of quality of David de Gea, who remains in negotiations with the club over a new contract, will also expect to be playing at this level for years to come. Questions about Paul Pogba’s future continue to be asked, despite Solskjaer insisting at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday that Pogba would still be at the club next season.

Lionel Messi takes in Old Trafford (PA)

United may be in the last eight of this season’s Champions League and dining back at that top table, but they would not be if not for a Leonardo Bonucci own goal back in November or a Presnel Kimpembe handball last month. Those are the fine margins that often decide Champions League contests, but it will take something more substantial to prove they are competitive again at this level.

It would be no surprise if, after Turin and Paris, these two legs against Barcelona could be a case of third time unlucky.