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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's first European Night at Old Trafford as a manager promised to be a huge occasion. French Champions Paris Saint Germain travelled to Manchester for the first leg of the round of sixteen in the UEFA Champions League.
It would be Solskjaer's toughest test of his managerial career so far, however, the fact that the Norwegian also had a FA Cup tie against Chelsea on Monday night to think about made team selection quite interesting.
As expected, Solskjaer made quite a few changes to the team that won over Fulham in the midweek. De Gea continued in goal, while Young, Lindelof and Bailly joined Luke Shaw in the back four.
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The midfield three of Herrera, Matic and Pogba remained the same, while up ahead, Lingard and Rashford were reinstated alongside the in-form Anthony Martial.
Both teams started well, with United matching PSG all around the park in the initial stages. However, the French Champions soon gained control of the game and started pegging United back. The first half ended 0-0, but PSG looked the stronger team.
At the start of the second half, United tried to press with renewed vigour, but Kimpembe scored for PSG in the 53rd minute to pile the pressure on the home team. In the 60th minute, Mbappe doubled the lead, causing United further misery.
The game ended 2-0 in favour of the away side, but Pogba received his marching orders in the dying minutes of the game, after picking up his second yellow card.
As such, Solskjaer's United were finally defeated, and go into the tie with a 0-2 deficit. PSG have 2 away goals, which makes it tougher for United, who will be missing Pogba in Paris. It was a dismal European night at Old Trafford and here are the five talking points from the game.
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#5 PSG dealt with United’s attackers well
Ever since Solskjaer took over, the front three has been magnificent for United. Their movement, speed and their tactical play have blown the opposition away in the Premier League as well as the FA Cup.
The UEFA Champions League brought with it a new challenge for the Norwegian, who went with his favoured front three of Martial, Lingard and Rashford.
PSG, however, had done their homework and Tuchel set up a three-man midfield to counter the United front three. Also, every time United went on the attack, Marquinhos dropped deep to help his defence out.
The French Champions stayed compact at the back and gave Lingard and Martial very little room in the wide areas. As a result, Rashford was often isolated and the three of them failed to gel on the night.
When Lingard picked up a knock at the end of the first half, Solskjaer sent on Alexis Sanchez. Mata started in place of Martial in the second half, after the Frenchman had picked up an injury too.
However, neither substitutes made an impact. Lukaku came on in place of Rashford for the last 10 minutes, but was ineffective too. PSG had an answer to everything United threw at them and it helped them win the game.
#4 Tuchel nullified Solskjaer’s midfield
Solskjaer's three-man midfield of Nemanja Matic, Ander Herrera and Paul Pogba had sent shock waves in the Premier League and the FA Cup. While Matic anchored the midfield, Herrera brought the bite and cleverness and Pogba was the source of creativity.
Those three had worked fantastically well together, ever since the Norwegian had taken over, but Tuchel had identified the importance of the United trio and had made his own plans.
The PSG Manager set up a similar midfield, with Verratti, Marquinhos and Julian Draxler, but kept Verratti and Marquinhos deeper. As such, United and especially Pogba found little joy through the middle.
PSG closed down the gaps in the midfield and also gave United very little room on the counter. Tuchel also set his forward players a little deeper, which also kept the United midfield busy.
Once PSG scored the goal, the midfield controlled the game. By losing the midfield battle, United lost the game.
#3 Di Maria comes back to haunt United
On the night, Manchester United did not have any answer to the Argentinean who had one forgettable season at Old Trafford under the reign of Louis Van Gaal.
Under the Dutchman, Di Maria was misused, had very little impact and left United at the end of the season to join PSG. The United faithful never forgave him for leaving and as such, he was given a hostile welcome at Old Trafford.
The Argentinean responded in the best way possible; he harrowed Ashley Young in the first half and then made a huge impact in the second half. He set up the first goal, as Kimpembe scored from his corner. Minutes later, he was scintillating in the counter, setting up Mbappe to score the killer second goal.
Di Maria was also full of running throughout the game, tracking back, pressing and working with the team to keep United at bay. Watching him might have given a sense of “what ifs” to Manchester United fans.
Maybe under a more attack-minded manager like Solskjaer, the Argentinean would have been the No. 7 that Manchester United were craving. On the night, he certainly looked like the real deal and helped PSG win the game.
#2 Solskjaer’s real test starts now
After staying undefeated in his first 11 games in charge, Solskjaer finally met his match in Tuchel. PSG inflicted United with their first defeat under Solskjaer’s reign and there were a lot of tactical gaps on the night.
Manchester United created very little in the game and while they started both halves strongly, the chances dried out as the game grew older. PSG took charge of the proceedings and did not allow United to get into the game again. To make matters worse, both Martial and Lingard picked up knocks too. Perhaps Solskjaer was a bit unlucky too, but his real test starts now.
Every time PSG attacked United, the Red Devils looked vulnerable. United’s desire to pile the bodies forward created a lot of gaps in between the midfield and the defence and PSG made use of this to the fullest.
Right now, United need to bounce back fast from this defeat to prepare for a trip to Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup. They then have a huge game against Liverpool the following weekend. Pogba missing from the second leg at Paris is another huge blow.
Yet all is not lost yet. United go into the second leg with nothing to lose and that makes them dangerous. How Solskjaer recovers from this defeat will define United’s season now.
#1 Away Leg without Pogba will be tough
PSG showed the maturity of their older players on the night, getting United a couple of soft bookings. But perhaps the most surprising was Pogba’s second yellow card. The Frenchman and Dani Alves had both tried for a 50/50 ball and it was a clumsy coming together with the game almost over.
However, the referee deemed it too big a fault from Pogba to show him the second yellow card of the night and it is perhaps as devastating to United as the two goals conceded.
Even with Pogba on the field, United were outclassed and outplayed. The only few moments United looked to take the game to the away side was when Pogba was on the ball and in and around the box.
Without their mercurial Frenchman, the Red Devils are desperately short of creativity and midfield power in the team. The biggest problem is the absence of an able substitute in the squad.
Fred could carry out the role but is on a dreadful run of form. The same can be said of Andreas Pereira. Perhaps Mata is the only player who has the abilities to replicate some of the creative abilities of the Frenchman.
Whoever comes into the team in the away leg in place of Pogba will have big shoes to fill and the Frenchman will be a big miss in Paris.
