Manchester United's brave approach vs Barcelona has paid off in two ways

It might be devastating for every other football fan across the country, but the decade of fun, laughter and derision at Manchester United's expense is over. They'd better have filled their boots because the banter era has come to a close.

The swagger is back. The confidence to walk into the Camp Nou and not give a single expletive about the baying crowd, the gravitas of Barcelona, and the weight of history. It was as if to say: 'We are Manchester United and we're here to play'.

Erik ten Hag's side didn't win in Catalonia but they might have got something even better - their reputation of a serious and quality team capable of playing at the highest level back. There have been some brilliant victories this season and the improvement has been as drastic as it has remarkable, but Thursday's match was a statement performance.

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The last time United travelled to Barcelona it came off the back of another game that felt like a new beginning but transpired to be a false dawn, a fluke. The dramatic victory over Paris Saint-Germain is a moment that will live long in the memory but it turned out to be the peak of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's time in charge before he had even got the job permanently.

The Norwegian managed that game excellently but it wasn't exactly a typical United display of taking games to opponents and showing little fear. Instead, they sat back for most of the match, bided their time and then got extremely lucky in the dying moments.

That's not sustainable and the next round proved to be the case. United went to the Camp Nou for the second leg already a goal down and with a back four of Victor Lindelof, Chris Smalling, Phil Jones and Ashley Young. It was only ever going