Case for the defence - Hargreaves and Co rely on hard work to shut out Barca

Yesterday Hargreaves was told four hours before kick-off that he was being asked to solve a defensive muddle caused by Nemanja Vidic's spell in a Barcelona hospital on Tuesday evening.

With Vidic sidelined by a stomach problem, Ferguson chose to use Wes Brown's experience at the centre of his defence, asking Hargreaves to fill in at right back. He had played this role for United before. Once. Against Bolton's Matt Taylor in March.

Last night he peered at his opposition at kick-off and saw Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi, Xavi and Deco staring back.

Some difference. Some challenge. But it is with mental challenges such as this in mind that Britain's biggest football club chooses and buys its favoured players. In short, United players are not paid to be scared.

That said, it was an uncomfortable opening hour for Hargreaves and his United defensive colleagues last night.

With Cristiano Ronaldo's secondminute penalty miss lifting the Catalan crowd, Frank Rijkaard's Barcelona team played with some of the vibrancy and fluency for which they were known until their recent problems.

Hargreaves may have been relieved to see that Thierry Henry would not be in his section of the field initially after Rijkaard decided the former Arsenal forward had neither the form or the fitness to warrant a starting place.

No Henry. No Ronaldinho. How many teams would not feel the absence of two such rare talents? Well for most of the first 70 minutes, Barcelona didn't seem to.

Like most sides of the very highest class — including United — it can be difficult to work out Barca's formation at times. That is usually a sign that they are playing at their fluent, instinctive best. So it was last night for long periods.

With the holding midfielder Yaya Toure functioning superbly in front of the back four, Messi, Deco and, in particular, the sublime Xavi exerted the kind of mesmerising pressure upon United that they are just not used to in the Barclays Premier League.

That Ferguson's team reached the business end of the game without conceding a goal said everything for the more mundane qualities of hard work, organisation and application.

By that stage Edwin van der Sar had only actually made one real save, from a long range Xavi shot in the 59th minute.

Hargreaves performed adequately in his makeshift role, but much of Barcelona's most dangerous work originated from his side. In the 11th minute, for example, Messi played a ball inside the England international that allowed the galloping Andres Iniesta to pull the ball back from the byline. Thankfully for United the pass was behind Deco.

Soon after, a ball from the left off Toure flashed dangerously across goal as United struggled to obtain any possession of note.

It is undeniable that Ferguson's team miss Vidic. His partnership with Ferdinand is fundamental. But Ferdinand led superbly in the Serbian's absence last night while Brown shrugged off recent indifferent form.