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There was a period early in the second half at Old Trafford on Wednesday night when it felt inevitable that Manchester United would turn the game around.
Marcus Rashford’s deflected goal disallowed Neymar’s first goal before the break and the hosts came out of the break to attack. Anthony Martial burned when he should have scored. Edinson Cavani hit the crossbar. The red shirts kept falling forward.
In the end, however, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men had to mourn those missed opportunities. The victory would have sent them as group winners, but a night that looked so promising ended in a 3-1 loss that jeopardizes their hopes of progress in the Champions League.
Solskjaer punished for Fred’s mistake
The spirits exploded between PSG and Manchester United
In truth, PSG might have been out of sight earlier if Fred hadn’t somehow escaped a red card for pressing his head against Leandro Paredes in the first half. Referee Daniele Orsato came over to check the court monitor after a VAR review, but deemed the infraction only worth a yellow.
The decision came as a huge surprise and Fred found himself walking the disciplinary tightrope from that point on. Shortly after Rashford’s draw, the Brazilian was embroiled in another rapprochement alongside Paredes. Replays showed that his cleats landed on his opposite number’s boot, but it was Paredes who ended up with a yellow card.
The expectation was that Fred would retire at halftime given his night’s progress. Manchester United had Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek in reserve, so Solskjaer was not short of options in central midfield.
But instead he sent Fred back for the second half. And if that wasn’t surprising enough, he was still on the field as the game was stretching and the clock ticked to the 70th minute.
The challenge that ultimately earned him his second yellow card actually seemed fair given that Fred won the ball before making contact with Marco Verratti. But it was still reckless to fly to the rig under the circumstances, and even more reckless, on the part of the man in the dugout, who hadn’t taken it out before.
Rashford scores but suffers an injury
Marcus Rashford scored before leaving injured
Thomas Tuchel described Rashford as “very upset” earlier this week about his scoring habit against Paris Saint-Germain and the 23-year-old proved an irritant to the French giants once again at Old Trafford.
There was more than a hint of good luck to his draw (his shot took a big deflection from Abdou Diallo on his way to the net), but his overall performance was fraught with threats.
The 23-year-old found ample space on PSG’s left flank, where full-back Diallo was often exposed, and his speed and outspokenness unsettled visitors on more than one occasion. Some of his crosses to the area were outstanding. His goal was his sixth in five Champions League appearances this season.
However, it was typical of Manchester United night that Rashford’s contribution ended on a low note. Shortly after Marquinhos put PSG back in front, he could be seen gesturing towards the bench after aggravating a shoulder injury. It came out for Paul Pogba moments later, mitigating United’s attack and leaving Solskjaer to sweat in his fitness for Saturday’s clash with West Ham.
Non-stop brilliant Neymar
Neymar scored PSG’s first and third goals at Old Trafford
How is Neymar stopped?
Aaron Wan-Bissaka did a good job when Manchester United traveled to Paris in October and Scott McTominay seemed to handle it well at Old Trafford in the first half, getting under his skin to the point that the Brazilian had to be brought down. the tunnel for his teammates at halftime.
But Neymar had the last word, his quality finally showed too much, as it usually happens. The 28-year-old scored his first goal brilliantly, shooting from an acute angle after a Kylian Mbappé shot deflected his way, but it was the second, in the first minute of stoppage time, that killed the player. game and underlined how special he is.
He started deep in PSG territory, with a setback that took him away from his compatriot Alex Telles. He then left Bruno Fernandes in his wake, before turning away from Harry Maguire. His pass to Mbappé was perfect, and seconds later he was in the right place at the right time to turn Rafinha’s cut into Manchester United’s empty net.
Sometimes no one stops him.
European hopes in the balance
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team faces one last nervous encounter
Manchester United continue to lead Group H thanks to their superior goal difference, but will head into the last round of matches knowing that their place in the round of 16 is far from guaranteed.
That’s in part because Group H drama wasn’t limited to Old Trafford on Wednesday night. In Turkey, in the previous kick-off, RB Leipzig beat Istanbul Basaksehir 4-3 thanks to a goal by Alexander Sorloth in injury time.
That goal ensures that they too move to nine points ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Red Bull Arena next week. In the other game, PSG will be a strong favorite to beat Istanbul Basakeshir at the Parc des Princes, but Manchester United’s mission is much more difficult.
Yes, they beat Julian Nagelsmann’s men 5-0 at Old Trafford in October. But this time it is unlikely to be that simple. RB Leipzig have won all seven of their home games this season, including against PSG, and their run to last season’s Champions League semi-finals included impressive victories over Tottenham and Atlético de Madrid.
They will come out to claim the scalp of another European heavyweight next Tuesday. A loss would likely leave United in the Europa League.
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