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

Modified Feb 13, 2019 17:02 GMT

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

#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.

About the author

Deepungsu is a veteran football journalist who has been covering daily transfer roundups and news for over six years at Sportskeeda. He has written over 8500 articles for the website, and has garnered over 19.5Million reads.

Deepungsu holds a PG degree in Microbiology and an MBA degree in Total Quality Management. He has an extensive two-decade long writing experience, which includes a decade of sports blogging. His writing prowess has even led his work getting cited on the legendary Franz Beckenbauer's Wikipedia page.

Inspired by Diego Maradona, Deepungsu played as an attacking midfielder for his local club at subdivision level in his initial years and scored an important goal or two. However, his all-time favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and evidently, he feels Argentina's glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment for fulfilling his long-standing dream. He is also an ardent East Bengal fan.

Deepungsu has been a Manchester United supporter since the year 2000. Unsurprisingly, his favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson and the Scotsman helped him get through some of the toughest days of his life. Like the fiery Scot, Deepungsu also leaves no stone unturned when it comes to accuracy in articles and only relies on credible sources.

Despite believing in Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland to create an iconic rivalry, Deepungsu reckons no one can match the longevity of Messi and Ronaldo. He spends his leisure time writing about life on his blog, reading books, and playing the guitar.

Know More

Edited by Sripad