Manchester United 0-2 PSG: 5 Areas where Solskjaer lost the battle

At the end of the night, Solskjaer looked dejected. He had the face of a beaten man, even though there was a calmness about him. Inside though, there was a storm brewing. United had been outclassed at their own backyard by the French Champions, who now had 2 away goals in their kitty. Even though it is unfair to rule out United without the second leg even played, it is hard to imagine that they can get the better of PSG at Paris, on a night when they would definitely be without Paul Pogba.

Manchester United failed to display their usual swagger and looked like a shadow of the team that had jumped up to 4th place under the Norwegian. It was a learning experience for both Solskjaer and his young team, who were beaten by the quality and the guile of an experienced PSG side.

Even though he had all the ingredients to make it a fair fight, here are 5 areas where Ole Gunnar Solskjaer lost the battle to PSG on the night.

#5 Not paying close attention to PSG's main men

Manchester United v Paris Saint-Germain - UEFA Champions League Round of 16: First Leg

With Neymar and Cavani injured, PSG were supposed to be crippled in attack. To make matters worse, Thomas Meunier was also ruled out from the game. Manchester United had a great chance to take advantage of the situation, however, Solskjaer failed to capitalize on the situation.

Arguably, four men won the game for PSG; Di Maria, Mbappe, Verratti and Marquinhos. The Norwegian was perhaps guilty of not paying close attention to these four all through the game. At the initial stages, Matic and Herrera looked stellar in the midfield. While the Serbian gobbled up all the loose balls and closed down Draxler, Herrera stayed close to Verratti.

But soon enough, both of them lost the midfield battle, as Marquinhos and Verratti double teamed to dictate the terms in the middle. Solskjaer would have been better advised to adjust his 3 man midfield to disrupt the two of PSG, but it never happened.

Quite similarly, Angel Di Maria and Mbappe started the game slowly, but grew in stature. While initially, United teamed up to stop the two of them, the home team was a little too ambitious at times and perhaps a bit overconfident as well. Two moments of loss of concentration cost United the game, and it all arose because United did not pay close attention to the dangermen of PSG.

#4 Failure to counter PSG's 3 man defence

Tuchel had studied United well and knew the dangers of that their front three possessed. He tweaked his formation to set up a three-man midfield and as a result, United's dynamic trio suddenly looked blunt. There was very little space for the likes of Martial, Lingard and Rashford to operate from and as the defense stayed deep, United found very little joy in the final third.

Solskjaer definitely saw this unfold as the game progressed, however, he failed to nullify Tuchel's tactics. He did have some options on the bench and could have brought on Lukaku to partner Rashford as a 2 man striking unit to build the pressure on the defense.

Or he could have pulled Martial inside to partner Rashford up front too. The Norwegian could have made a few tactical changes to counter Tuchel's tactics but decided to stick to his plans. Sadly, it backfired as United rarely threatened the PSG defense, who enjoyed a quiet night.

#3 Injuries

Perhaps the outcome of the game would have been different had United not lost two of their most potent attackers in the first half itself. While Martial had not been groundbreaking, he was threatening down the left and was beginning to grow in the game.

However, he picked up an injury at the closing stages of the first half and Solskjaer immediately sent Sanchez to warm up. Things looked so bleak at a time that the Chilean was called back and was seen tying his boots. However Martial seemed to walk off the injury and continued the game.

A few minutes later, Lingard pulled up and it was clear that the Englishman could not continue any longer. Sanchez replaced him in the injury time of first half. Before the start of the second half, Mata was drafted in to replace Martial and with the departure of the two wide men, Rashford looked isolated.

With Sanchez and Mata alongside him, the English youngster failed to thrive and had a quiet second half. He was eventually replaced by Lukaku, but by then, United had succumbed to the injuries to their star player and had all but lost the battle on the night.

#2 Losing the tempo of the game

Part of Solskjaer's brilliant start as the Manchester United manager had been down to the high tempo pressing game that he championed in a short time at United. The Norwegian had his boys playing in the model of the United teams of old. Under his able guidance, United dictated the tempo of every game. They beat the opposition with the speed of their front men and slowed down the proceedings when the opponent tried to break into the game.

United played a high pressing game that gave the opposition very little time on the ball and against PSG, Solskjaer team started on the same note. Sadly, they could not sustain the tempo for too long. While the actual reason for that was not clear, there could have been a lot of factors involved. As a result, PSG found their footing in the game and used the knowledge of their experienced players to see the game through.

By losing control of the tempo of the game, Solskjaer ultimately ost the battle on the night.

#1 Departure from Counter-Attacking Football

Manchester United had always relied on fast counter attacking football to break down solid defenses and get the better of dogged oppositions. This style of play is embedded in the club's roots; it is almost a part of their institution. It was no surprise that Solskjaer found most of his success when depending on the same tactics that he had seen Sir Alex use at close quarters.

The plan was simple. United relied on their discipline and allowed the opposition to come to them. Then, as the spaces opened up, they capitalized by deploying fast, attacking football that caught the opposition off guard.

Players were instructed to waste little time on the ball and were encouraged to flood the opposition box on the counter to use the numbers advantage to win the game.

Against PSG though, United rarely used this plan. The French Champions did not allow United to mount the counter, staying static at the back throughout the game. United tried to react by going all out against a compact opposition, who continuously used the same tactics on the home team.

The Norwegian could have relied on his strongest attribute to beat a seemingly stronger opposition, but it just did not happen on the night. As United failed to get their counter-attack going, the battle was slowly lost.

Edited by Sripad