Table of Contents
Getting tight
The race to qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League just got much more complicated for Manchester United after losing 3-1 to PSG on matchday five.
Two goals from Neymar and one from Marquinhos helped last season’s finalists to victory at Old Trafford.
Game Story
Needing only a point to advance Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team appeared to start the match very conservatively.
They were punished in the 6th minute after some great work from Kylian Mbappe in the United penalty area saw his shot saved by David de Gea.
Neymar though was in the right place at the right time to drill the loose ball home.
More pressure came from the French side in the 17th minute after Moise Kean looped a cross to Neymar who hooked his effort too close to de Gea.
In the 21st minute, there was drama as Fred enraged the PSG side with what appeared to be a headbutt to Leandro Paredes.
The referee reviewed the incident giving Fred a caution for his actions.
United’s first chance came in the 26th minute.
A nice cross from Bruno Fernandes found Scott McTominay but his header wasn’t strong enough to trouble Keylor Navas who covered easily.
Just past the half-hour mark, United got their equalizer.
After Navas saved brilliantly from an Anthony Martial shot the rebound was gathered by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
The defender slid a pass to Marcus Rashford whose right-footed strike deflected off Danilo and past Navas to level the match
Early in the second half United had a glorious opportunity to take the lead.
A great combination between Rashford and Edinson Cavani teed up Martial who fired it over the bar with Navas seemingly in no man’s land.
Cavani came close to scoring against his former team on 57 minutes.
Martial sent him through nicely, his effort beats Navas but not the bar.
PSG nearly regained the lead in the 64th minute after Alessandro Florenzi floated a ball across the face of goal to Marquinhos whose header touched the top of the bar and sailed over.
Four minutes later though PSG regained its lead.
Off a corner, United failed to clear the danger as the ball skipped out to Diallo.
His flick towards Marquinhos was poked in from close range.
In the 70th minute, United was really put on the backpedal after a rough challenge from Fred took down PSG’s Ander Herrera.
The ref immediately gave Fred a second yellow card and the Reds were down to ten men.
Thomas Tuchel’s side made them pay in injury time.
Mbappe found Rafinha down the left-wing, as the midfielder found his fellow countrymen Neymar all alone in front, cutting it back to him for a tap in.
The Boys from Brazil
Brazilian fingerprints were all over today’s match on both sides of the pitch.
For PSG Neymar and Marquinhos netted twice and once respectively.
Rafinha’s great work set up Neymar’s insurance marker in stoppage time.
On the United side, Fred’s clumsy challenges seemed to light a spark in PSG.
Fortunately for Fred, his first-half headbutt only yielded a caution when it could very well have been red.
In the 70th minute, the match took a turn following his dismissal for a challenge on Herrera.
That moment after United had just conceded minutes earlier was a definite backbreaker for Solskajer’s squad.
Troubles at Home
This is the fourth time the visiting side has won the match between these two teams in the Champions League.
The Reds have now lost more of their eight home games in all competitions this season (4) than they did in 28 games at Old Trafford last term (3).
United’s now lost four of their last seven Champions League encounters on home soil.
Man of the Match
Neymar is the third highest paid footballer for a reason and he showed that tonight.
Last season’s tournament runners-up started this group stage poorly with only three points from their first three matches.
His two goals today puts his team in an ideal position to qualify for the knockout stage next week.
The Brazilian’s now got four goals in his last three games across all competitions for his club.
Since his Champions League debut in 2013 only Cristiano Ronaldo (79), Robert Lewandowski (60), and Lionel Messi(59) have more goals in the competition than Neymar.
His two goals tonight puts his Champions League tally at 38.
All to Play For
United’s loss combined with RB Leipzig’s 4-3 win over Istanbul Basaksehir makes for a very interesting final day in Group H.
PSG, United, and Leipzig are all tied with 9 points each at the moment
PSG is top of the group because they’re victory today was greater than United’s win against them (2-1).
United are next due to their matchday two win (5-0) over the Germans.
It seems the French champions are in the pole position having to face Istanbul on the final matchday next week.
That leaves United needing a result in Leipzig against last season’s semi-finalists.
It’s a tall order seeing as the Red Bulls are unbeaten at home this season.
A draw again however is all United needs to qualify.
Manager’s Words
United manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said the game came down to a few missed opportunities.
“It was a very good game of football which deserved fans. When you see the team sheets you think there might be goals in this game, because there’s loads of attacking talent and I don’t think anyone was disappointed. Chances for both teams,” he said.
“With a bit more clinical finishing we could have finished the game midway in the second half. In that period, they were there for the taking,” says Solskjaer.
Next Up
The Reds will travel to London to face former manager David Moyes and West Ham on Saturday at 5:30 pm.
United’s D-Day Champions League moment happens next Tuesday from Red Bull arena against Leipzig at 8 pm. (JSL)
