Manchester United played very well even though the match ended in defeat, Manchester United conceded in the last minute which made them go home empty handed.
The conditions of Manchester United and Barcelona are both in the best form in their respective leagues, this game is one of the most awaited by football fans. The battle between these two teams will be played at a high tempo, Manchester United must find the right strategy to break into Barcelona defense which is very strong this season. Barcelona only conceded 6 goals from 17 games played in La Liga, Barcelona solid defense made Ten Hag have to find a gap to score in this match.
Honestly, they were playing against the leader of the league and they lost by the last minute goal, I would say that's a big improvement for them as it is. The fact that they are in UCL spot right now and look like possibly the third team by the end of the season (fighting with Newcastle for that spot) is the answer to everyone's question about Ronaldo.
He was a great player but he wasn't in their game plan and as soon as he left (and a bit before that) they started to win and be better because they didn't have to put a player in where he doesn't belong. This doesn't make him bad, he just wasn't in their plans for the season and that's it. You wait and see, next year United will be even better.
I know the strength has been revived, agility is boosted, and everyone is ready to give his best. But all I know is, Even as Successful as Manchester United seems to be, with Erikson and Casemiro on the bench or long-term injuries, the whole team will be affected. Where I am driving at is that Ronaldo will still fit into Ten Hag'a game plan and will be productive at Manchester united. The only problem when he was around was because of a Dm and Cmd, and casemiro and Erikson were yet to discover themselves.