Erik ten Hag's dinner date with Sir Alex Ferguson certainly did the trick.
Just 48 hours after tapping into the wisdom of Manchester United's greatest boss at a Cheshire restaurant, Ten Hag masterminded one of the great European wins at Old Trafford. Ferguson enjoyed plenty of those during his glittering 26-and-a-half year reign and pumped his fists high up in the stands when United scored the winner.
This was a seismic win for United, one which confirmed their re-emergence as a force in Europe after a decade of failure and self-recrimination. United's players celebrated wildly at the end, the bond between the squad and supporters now the strongest it has been in the post-Ferguson era.
Their prize may only be a place in the last 16 of the Europa League, but knocking out the La Liga leaders sent a huge message to the rest of Europe - United are back.
That they had to come from behind, through goals from Brazilian duo Fred and Antony, made United's win – stretching their unbeaten run at home to 18 games - all the more impressive. It underlined the formidable belief and unity Ten Hag has instilled in the fractured squad he inherited and showed what a remarkable job he has done.
On Sunday, Ten Hag will aim to end United's six-year wait for a trophy when they face Newcastle in the EFL Cup final at Wembley. the Red Devils will go bouncing into that game after this epic triumph, which is arguably the worst possible scenario for Eddie Howe's side
The hosts should have taken the lead after three minutes, when Casemiro put Bruno Fernandes through on goal, but the United captain thudded his shot straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Fernandes was the culprit again in the 16th minute, conceding a penalty after needlessly pulling back Alejandro Balde in the penalty area.
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It was a soft penalty, but Fernandes did not need to take such a risk in his own area, with Robert Lewandowski dispatching the resulting spot kick. Barca took control and plonked United on what Ferguson famously called their “passing carousel”, keeping them at arm's length with their ball retention.
United could have been 2-0 down moments before the break after De Gea passed the ball straight to Sergi Roberto, but Casemiro came to the rescue with a vital challenge and block. It was a left-off for United and they capitalised on it within 90 seconds of the restart as Fernandes squared for Fred, whose first-half failings were forgotten as he placed the ball beyond Ter Stegen and into the bottom corner.
Old Trafford went wild with the equaliser and the momentum, which had been with Barca ever since they had taken the lead, suddenly shifted back in United's favour.
Tempers flared just before the hour, when Fernandes struck the ball straight at Frenkie de Jong as the Barca midfielder lay on the turf. A melee between both sides ensued, leading to Fernandes and Franck Kessie being booked.
De Gea produced a fine save at full-stretch in the 64th minute to keep out a header from Jules Kounde, to keep United in the game. The hosts scored the decisive goal in the 73rd minute after Luke Shaw kept the ball in with a back-heel, Fernandes picked it up and found substitute Alejandro Garnacho.
Garnacho's shot was blocked, as was Fred's, but it was third time lucky when it fell to Antony as the substitute swept the ball beyond Ter Stegen with a clinical finish to send Old Trafford into delirium. There was further drama with a goal-line clearance from Raphael Varane in added time, before the final whistle signalled the rebirth of United on the European stage.
