Barcelona vs. Manchester United score: Rashford and Raphinha find the net in thrilling Europa League draw
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Manchester United and Barcelona locked horns in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Spotify Camp Nou on Thursday. It was the individual brilliance of Marcus Rashford for the Red Devils and Raphinha for Barca that stole the spotlight in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League knockout playoffs.
After a first half where the teams couldn’t finish their chances, the game broke open in a big way with a Marcos Alonso header in the 50th minute, assisted by Raphinha, before Marcus Rashford extended his scoring run and brought United level only three minutes later. Rashford forced Jules Kounde into an own goal before a wicked Raphinha cross evaded everyone to end up in the back of the net for an equalizer. It was quite an open match that both sides will come away feeling like they deserved to win. What we do know is that this sets the stage for an exciting second leg at Old Trafford on Feb. 23 (on Paramount+).
Xavi will have a few worries as Gavi will be suspended for the second clash while Pedri also left the match with an injury. Sergio Busquets is also injured, so it could be a completely different midfield than usual heading to Manchester. Meanwhile, the Erik ten Haag will get Lisandro Martinez back from suspension, which will only improve their defensive prospects after allowing Barcelona to control large portions of the opening leg.
CBS Sports will continue to update this news story as necessary.