FC Barcelona played excellent soccer last Wednesday, but failed to score in a 0-0 draw at Camp Nou. After Cristiano Ronaldo’s third minute penalty kick miss, the Spanish side dominated the game thoroughly: they held the ball for 73% of the game and managed twenty shots to Man U’s seven. It did not appear as if they were missing Ronaldinho as Lionel Messi and Samuel Eto’o consistently gave their teammates opportunities near the goal. Yet, their inability to score makes this effort no more than a confidence boost. Barca should have at least a one goal aggregate advantage heading to England.

Any mental edge Manchester United might gain from this game is purely defensive. Their clean sheet should be credited to both the defensive prowess of Scholes, Brown, Ferdinand, and Van der Saar and to Ferguson packing the box with 7-8 players for sixty plus minutes. After Ronaldo’s miss, the Premier League squad looked like they played to tie. Wayne Rooney, in particular, seemed almost invisible due to his team’s lack of ball control.

Despite (and also because of) Barcelona’s superior play, the second leg provides no room for error. Ronaldo will not miss a second chip shot and United midfielders are bound to hold the ball more than 27% of the time. They will test Barca defenders Abidal and Marquez (who played well) with long passes to Ronaldo and Tevez. Expect to see subs earlier. Henry came in too late (77th minute), but refocused Barcelona’s attack. Nani, Manchester’s other Portuguese phenom, might see an earlier entry (76th minute) on Tuesday.

As for predictions, this one is too close to call. Let’s just hope a goal, rather than PKs, decide this powerhouse match up and who gets to see Moscow come May.