Barcelona manager Xavi gives three reasons why Manchester United won Europa League fixture

Xavi thinks Barcelona lacked patience, calm and struggled with their game management against Manchester United.

Barcelona took the lead during their Europa League playoff tie at Old Trafford on Thursday night thanks to Robert Lewandowski's converted penalty, but Erik ten Hag made multiple changes at half-time and United completed a comeback with goals from Fred and Antony.

After substituting Antony onto the pitch, Ten Hag relocated Bruno Fernandes to central attacking midfield, Jadon Sancho to the left wing and Marcus Rashford down the middle in the second half, which essentially won the game.

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Xavi, speaking after the match, praised United's intensity after the changes were made and he also explained what went wrong for Barcelona. "I think we played well at the start but lacked calm and patience," the Barcelona boss said at his press conference.

"We started the second half really bad, we were dominating the game and controlling it, we needed more game management and we lost duels as well. We could have been more intense, I think we've lost some duels there.

"But I think in general, we lacked that little bit in our game and you saw the difference in the second half. In the first half, I think we played very well. We can be proud of the way we've competed and shown our face against a really big side.

"It's a shame because we had an excellent first half and now we just have to focus on the league and the cup. In the second half, they brought players on and they were tremendously intense in that second half.

"We stood up to be counted today and those little finer details have decided the game in the end. They are players [Pedri and Gavi] that decide games,