Erik ten Hag sent a message to prospective Manchester United owners against Barcelona

In the build-up it was described as a fixture that belonged in Europe's premier club competition, kicking off at 8pm on either a Tuesday or Wednesday evening.

Instead, Manchester United and Barcelona, both looking to rediscover their places at European football's top table, went toe to toe at 5:45pm on a Thursday teatime. But despite it being a tie that will decide who reaches the last-16 of the Europa League, you would never have guessed it with the quality that was on show and the intensity that the game was played. It was a European classic.

With United's travelling contingent up in the gods hoping to witness a result that they would be able to tell their children and their grandchildren about in years to come, Erik ten Hag, before the first ball had even been kicked, made it clear that he and his players would be doing their utmost to create a lasting memory. He confirmed that United had arrived at Camp Nou, a stadium considered European football's greatest cathedral, to go toe to toe with La Liga's pacesetters.

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"We can do it, it's a good element in our game, that we have a very good counter, but I think we also have to bring them out of their comfort zone," Ten Hag said, speaking to BT Sport in his pre-match interview. "We will press them high, if possible.

"Where possible we have to press them high. And also when we have the ball we have to let them run. We have players in our squad now that are capable to play, so we have to play."

United most certainly did play. Right from the very off they made it clear that they had not travelled all the way to Spain just to be dictated to. Bruno Fernandes' low cross, which was so nearly met by Fred on the stretch,