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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Dan Brown

Barcelona suffer major blow as Gavi ruled out of Europa League second leg vs Manchester United

Barcelona midfielder Gavi will miss the Europa League play-off second-leg clash with Manchester United after picking up his third booking in Europe this season.

The 18-year-old was shown a yellow card in the second period after pulling Fred to the ground in an attempt to prevent a Reds counter-attack. As a result, he will now be suspended for the reverse leg at Old Trafford next Thursday after being booked for a third time in Europe.

Gavi was booked against Inter Milan and Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League earlier this season, and as per UEFA rules, those bookings carry over to every European competition. The youngster has made 32 appearances in all competitions for the Catalan outfit this term.

ALSO READ: Barcelona vs United LIVE

The young Spaniard performed well in the first-leg clash on Thursday night, with the game finishing 2-2. Former Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso opened the scoring for Barcelona in the 50th minute, but the in-form Marcus Rashford levelled proceedings just two minutes later.

Erik ten Hag's side then made it 2-1 thanks to an own goal from Jules Kounde, however, Raphinha made it 2-2 in the 76th minute - with neither side able to go on and find a winner. United welcome Xavi's side to Old Trafford for the second leg next Thursday, and with the away goals rule no longer in play, the team that wins on the night will progress.

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