Red Devils can hurt Nou Camp hosts in return leg: Buoyant Pogba

Paul Pogba says Manchester United can hurt Barcelona at the Camp Nou as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side plot another unlikely Champions League comeback following their 1-0 home defeat.

Luke Shaw’s own goal from a Luis Suarez header was the difference in Wednesday’s first leg of the quarter-final at Old Trafford, where United failed to muster a single shot on target but largely shackled Barca’s glut of attackers.

Solskjaer’s men face an uphill battle but they will travel with memories still fresh of their remarkable recovery last month to beat Paris Saint-Germain on away goals after losing the home leg 2-0.

French World Cup winner Pogba was encouraged by how United largely kept Barcelona quiet.

“I think it was a good game,” the midfielder said. “Obviously we were playing against Barcelona, one of the best teams in the world, but we gave them some problems as well.

“They gave us some problems but we know where we can hurt them. Now it is one leg gone, you have the other one and we are going to give everything on this one.”

Asked if United could beat the Spanish league leaders, Pogba said: “Of course. If you don’t believe that you can beat them, you just let them go through.

“Of course we believe that we can beat them. We are Manchester United. Even if they are Barcelona, we are Manchester United and we play in the Champions League like they do and we can go through, of course.”

Winning at the Camp Nou will be a tough ask but Pogba said the PSG comeback breeds positivity.

“Probably Paris will be in their minds for sure because they saw what we can do against PSG,” he said.

Romelu Lukaku, meanwhile, called on Manchester United to play with “arrogance and confidence” against Barcelona as they seek to overturn a 1-0 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side face an uphill battle at the Camp Nou next week after Luke Shaw’s own goal gave Barca a 1-0 win in Wednesday’s match at Old Trafford.

United rallied after that early setback and unsettled Ernesto Valverde’s side, giving Lukaku and his teammates confidence of a memorable turnaround in Spain next Tuesday.

“We have to believe and have the desire and more quality than today,” said the Belgium striker. “Be better on the ball and then you never know what can happen in football.

“I don’t think we played with the same arrogance and confidence on the ball (early on). Second half we tried and the first 20 minutes of the second half we were there.

“It’s something we have to do for the whole 90 minutes over there and not concede a goal and score early.”

That approach worked well at Paris Saint-Germain last month as United made Champions League history by becoming the first side to progress after losing the first leg at home by two or more goals.

The Parc des Princes triumph was the highlight of a topsy-turvy campaign for the Old Trafford giants, but even during the difficult Jose Mourinho era they managed to seal a last-gasp 2-1 comeback win at Juventus.

Asked if those two matches will play on Barcelona’s mind, Lukaku said: “Yeah, but I don’t think they will look at us. We have to look at ourselves, get a result and give our all, run as much as we can.”

“Definitely (they are beatable),” Lukaku added.

Agence France-Presse