MAN UNITED 0, PARIS ST GERMAIN 2
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Manchester United came up short against one of Europe’s elite teams as he suffered his first defeat as Manchester United’s interim manager.
The first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Paris St Germain at Old Trafford showed up many deficiencies, especially in the Reds’ rearguard as Kylian Mbappe proved why he is heir apparent to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Mbappe leave United with a proverbial mountain to climb in the second leg at Parc des Princes on March 6.
And if that is not bad enough, they will be without Paul Pogba for the return after he was sent off in the last minute to complete a miserable night, a first for Solskjaer after his first 11 games yielded 10 victories and one draw.
This match went to show that, while they have made immense progress in the last two months under Solskjaer, they are not equipped to match Europe’s best club sides.
Embed from Getty Images“They were a level above us, and that is the level we want to get up to,” conceded Solskjaer.
Though PSG were without two of their superstar strikers – goodness knows the score had Neymar and Edinson Cavani also played – as a depleted forward line was still far too good for the Reds.
They scored twice and, but for three important saves from David De Gea, it would have been a far heavier loss as PSG enjoyed 56-per-cent possession and 12 goal attempts to United’s 10.
And at the opposite end of the pitch, United managed only one shot on target, their lowest number since 2005 when they also managed a meagre one against eventual finalists AC Milan.
It was a reality check for Solskjaer who admitted: “Today was a reality check for us. They had the momentum after the first goal and controlled the game.
“You could see that we hadn’t played at this level for a while and we will have to learn. It was an experience that could go either way, it’s not going to be a season defining one, it’s one we have to learn from.
“Mountains are there to be climbed, you can’t lay down and say this is over. We will go there, play our game and improve from today.”
Solskjaer refused to blame injuries to Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial in the opening period as an excuse.
PSG’s German coach Thomas Tuchel believed the key to victory was playing as a team.
He said: “We set the pace and rhythm of the game. We had a good structure and mental approach, and that gave us a huge amount of confidence.
“In the second half we were more and more in control and that is why we won.
“Two-nil is a good result but it is only half time and no team won a game on that basis. We need the same approach, mentality and mindset in the second game.”
United made five changes from the side that won at Fulham on Saturday.
Into the side came Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly as the new centre-half pairing, Ashley Young at right back, Lingard and Marcus Rashford up front.
The players to lose out were Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku.
PSG, despite the absence of Neymar and Cavani, still had a formidable line-up with Kylian Mbappe their talisman and a side that also included the likes of Gianluigi Buffon, Thiago Silva, Dani Alves and Julian Draxler while Angel Di Maria returned to Old Trafford.
There was one minute’s applause before kick off as all clubs in the Champions League marked the passing of Cardiff City striker Emiliano Sala.
It was especially poignant as he was playing his football in France for Nantes.
Di Maria, so disappointing in his spell at Old Trafford, almost made a magical start as in the sixth minute he fired a shot narrowly wide from outside the box.
PSG’s goalkeeping legend Buffon had to beat away an angled cross-come-shot from Rashford as United threatened for the first time.
The visitors ought to have taken the lead just short of the half hour when Marco Verratti and Draxler combined to release Mbappe who from six yards fired narrowly wide when he ought to have hit the target with only De Gea to beat.
United were caught again as Marquinhos released Di Maria and, though De Gea saved, the assistant referee had raised a flag for offside. It was, nevertheless, a second warning for the Reds.
There was a flashpoint when Young, already booked, sent Di Maria crashing into the metal perimeter fence after a shoulder charge, but United’s defender escaped further punishment.
United were forced to make two changes in stoppage time and at the break, both through injury as Lingard and Martial were replaced by Alexis Sanchez and Mata.
The breakthrough came in the 53rd minute through Kimpembe who slipped marked Nemanja Matic to volley Di Maria’s corner past De Gea from four yards.
The corner came about after De Gea pulled off a terrific save to turn Mbappe’s header round the post from almost on the goalline.
The goal sparked an amazing onslaught from PSG as they began to create chances at will.
Alves saw a goalbound shot deflected by Paul Pogba for a corner before PSG doubled their advantage on the hour.
Di Maria provided a second assist with a cross from the left as Mbappe squeezed in-between Bailly and Lindelof to slot home a shot from six yards.
And it would have been far worse but for De Gea who pulled off two important saves in quick succession to deny Mbappe and Thilo Kehrer as United’s defence was exposed time and time again.
United made their last change with six minutes left as Lukaku replaced the out-of-sorts Rashford.
If it could not have got any worse, it did so in the last minute when Pogba was sent off for a second booking for a clear foul on Alves as United ended with 10 men.