Manchester United vs Barcelona: Five things we learned from Champions League defeat to Luke Shaw own goal

Five things we learned: United slip to a narrow defeat at Old Trafford but will have hope of salvaging this tie in the second leg

Luis Suarez takes on Chris Smalling early in the game (Reuters)

United stay alive, but only just

“You can't leave United alive,” Gerard Pique told journalists on the eve of this game but despite enjoying spells of near total control, a below-par Barcelona did just that. Manchester United are still in this tie, just.

That is remarkable, given that their share of the ball fell as low as the 10 per cent mark in the opening stages. Barcelona made the most of their initial dominance, with Luis Suarez guiding an away goal in off Luke Shaw's arm.

But this quarter-final should, in truth, have been put to bed. Instead, United were allowed to gradually find their way back into the game and Barcelona struggled to regain their early fluency.

It may still not be enough. United will still be unfancied in the Nou Camp next week. They have only a slender chance of progression, but as Paris Saint-Germain know too well, that is all they need.

Solskjaer adopts safety-first approach again

In the early days of his appointment, Solskjaer was heralded for returning United to attacking principles that the club proudly associates itself with. And yet, at every opportunity to go out and press a fellow elite side, his approach has invariably been conservative and safety-first.

This is not necessarily a criticism - Louis van Gaal was certainly a little harsh when he described Solskjaer's style as “park the bus” - but there can now be no doubt that against the very best, the United manager sets his side out to play on the back foot.

And so it was here, with a five-man defence employed out of possession, sat deep to protect against Barcelona’s incisive passing in behind, and Marcus Rashford on the half-way line, ready and waiting to break at speed.

Lukaku’s laboured display undermines United counters

As an approach, it limited Barcelona to just one goal and provided United with a few brief moments of promise. The one thing undermining it was Romelu Lukaku, who after a recent spell of improved form, endured a night to forget partnering Rashford up front.

Many look at the Belgian and see a hefty, ungainly presence more suited to an aerial style of play. In fairness, on his bad days, Lukaku does go strangely missing, as if unable to calibrate himself with the rest of United’s attack.

But this is the same Lukaku whose intelligence and movement at Everton earned him a move to Old Trafford; the same Lukaku whose decoy running produced one of the goals of the tournament at the last World Cup.

He is clearly able to play in a team built around breaking at speed but there are nights when it simply does not come off. How long before an forward line of Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard becomes the preferred option?

Suarez’s long European drought goes on

First, it was the assistant referee, incorrectly flagging him offside after rolling a header into David de Gea’s net. Then it was Uefa’s equivalent of the dubious goals panel, judging Shaw’s touch on the ball to be decisive and awarding the own goal.

Come hell or high water, Luis Suarez would be denied. It would have been his first Champions League goal of the season, his first away from home in this competition for almost four years and one to savour, given the occasion and his history in this country.

Suarez’s long drought in Europe is curious for a player of his enduring quality, one who scored the decisive goal in the 2015 final no less, but Ernesto Valverde will not be overly concerned. There were enough signs here that it could end soon, not least in the Nou Camp next Tuesday.

McTominay’s star continues to rise

After being United’s one bright spot in defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers last week, Scott McTominay continued on his gradual ascent towards becoming a useful member of Solskjaer’s first-team squad.

It was in this competition against opposition from Spain - in Seville in the last-16 last season - that he was thrust into the middle of a political war between star player and manager. His credentials as a United first-team player were questioned and tested.

His rise since then has been slow and gradual but since starting the draw against Liverpool in February, and that excellent display in Paris last month, McTominay has not looked back. He is starting to look at home in this team and at this level.