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Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer defended his decision not to take Fred out and instead blamed the clinical blur of his forwards for their 3-1 Champions League loss to PSG at Old Trafford.
Neymar scored twice for PSG, while United squandered several chances when they drew 1-1 after Marcus Rashford’s draw.
United’s Brazilian midfielder Fred was sent off in the 70th minute after a first-half caution for an off-the-ball head-to-head clash that had made him a likely candidate for a half-time substitution.
Solskjaer said he had considered replacing the Brazilian, but felt the firing was harsh.
“Fred has played very well. We talked about keeping calm and standing. The second yellow card was not a foul at all. Ander (Herrera) knows it,” he said.
“It was a very good game that the fans deserved. With a little more clinical finish we should have finished the game. They were there to take it.
“We had great opportunities. The difference when you get to the big games is the clinical moments.”
United, PSG and RB Leipzig are tied at nine points and Solskjaer’s side faces a difficult test in Germany on Tuesday.
“Fate is still in our hands. If we go to Leipzig and win the game, we pass. We want to be in the Champions League and we have to show it next week with a good performance,” he said.
United captain Harry Maguire felt his team had been unlucky.
“We had better chances. His two goals are difficult goals: rebounding and pinball around the area. I think we deserved something,” he said.
“You have to take a chance and not give away soft goals. But we still have control to go through to the knockout stages.”
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