Man Utd 2, Paris St Germain 0 – Player Ratings
It was a humbling night for Man Utd as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered his first defeat after an 11 match unbeaten run as United boss, losing 2-0 to Paris St Germain at Old Trafford in the Champions League.
2 second half goals by Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe did for the Reds who lost Paul Pogba to a late second yellow card as they lost at home by more than 1 goal for the first time in European competition.
The end of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s 11 match unbeaten run
Paris St Germain represented the stiffest challenge yet for United’s interim manager.
They had been riding their luck in some recent games, Spurs and Burnley to name just two, but the came up against a Paris Saint Germain side who are runaway league leaders in France despite a shock defeat to Lyon recently.
Although missing some high profile names including the likes of Neymar and Edinson Cavani plus the contract rebel Adrien Rabiot the French side starved the Reds of chances, leaving them frustrated.
Solskjaer will have every reason to be disappointed with the set piece goal that opened the floodgates in the second half, with Nemanja Matic losing concentration to allow Presnel Kimpembe to get the jump on him.
The second goal was an inevitable result of allowing Mbappe to get a run on goal after PSG broke.
Angel Di Maria returns with two assists to beat Manchester United
The former United winger was certainly on a mission tonight – he laid on both goals. The first was created from his corner and the second was a swept-in cross that sent Kylian Mbappe clean through for a trade-mark finish from the precocious youngster.
The boos from some home fans when he was substituted were entirely unfair for a player who never found his feet under Louis Van Gaal at Old Trafford.
United created worryingly little after Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard went off
The Reds seemed cautious before half time, wary of the potential of Mbappe to create something from nothing.
Their game plan took a massive knock when injuries robbed them of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial by half time.
After going behind to a set piece goal they were forced more on to the front foot, they still could not get their passing game together and found Paris St German to be more defensively organised than the flat track bullies that their domestic record suggests.
The frustration at not being able to create more than one clear chance on the PSG goal will have been worrying with the Reds having newly arrived in fourth place in the Premier League for the first time this season.
United ended up with just one shot on target against PSG – their lowest tally in a Champions League match at Old Trafford since February 2005 in the last 16 against eventual finalist AC Milan.
Bookings and a crucial sending off for Paul Pogba
French midfielder Paul Pogba endured a poor night. He could have been sent off earlier after a reckless tackle but his frustration at being unable to create a goal for United boiled over and he was sent off for a second booking late on.
It was his second red card for United for the Frenchman – the first being at Arsenal in December 2017.
He will now miss the second leg in Paris but there could have been more suspensions with a total of 10 bookings dished out by the Italian referee – 2 of which were for Pogba – and 4 for fouls on Kylian Mbappe on the night.
PLAYER RATINGS – Manchester United 0, Paris Saint Germain 2
David De Gea: 7. Made three saves to prevent a worse scoreline for United.
Ashley Young: 6. Risked a second yellow card when he pushed Angel Di Maria off the pitch in the first half.
Victor Lindelof: 6. Had his hands full with Mbappe all night, was fortunate to catch Mbappe with offside trap early on – the French youngster missed the target anyway.
Eric Bailly: 6. Left in the dust by Kylian Mbappe.
Luke Shaw: 6. Crossing was generally poor all night.
Nemanja Matic: 6. Generally a good game but crucially missing for Presnel Kimpembe’s goal.
Ander Herrera: 6. Second half shots didn’t threaten as United sought to get back in the game.
Jesse Lingard: 6. Has been nursing an injury recently and broke down, unable to continue even until half time. Replaced by Alexis Sanchez in first half stoppage time.
Paul Pogba: 5. Some good passing early on. Was pumped up for the occasion and lucky not to earn a second yellow card in the first half. Was crowded out in the second half and then sent off for a second booking as the frustration boiled over.
Anthony Martial: 6. Tried make an impact down the left flank but injured his groin and faded out of the game. Replaced at half time by Juan Mata.
Marcus Rashford: 6. Faded away in the second half after a dangerous start.
Alexis Sanchez (for Jesse Lingard, 45+4): 5. Ineffective and showed his frustration by the end)
Juan Mata (for Anthony Martial, 46): 5. Could not get past the Paris defence.
Romelu Lukaku (for Marcus Rashford, 84): Too late to mark.
GOALS – Man Utd 0, Paris St Germain 2
Man Utd 0, Paris St Germain 1: 53. Presnel Kimbembe sneaks in and scores at the back post following a corner by Angel Di Maria #mufc #psg #ucl #munpsg
Man Utd 0, Paris St Germain 2: 60. Kylian Mbappe put the afterburners on to get between Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof to meet Di Maria’s cross from the left after Thilo Kehrer slid him through.
MATCH STATS – Man Utd 0, Paris St Germain 2
Man Utd: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Bailly, Shaw, Matic, Herrera, Lingard, Pogba, Martial, Rashford (Lukaku 84)
Man Utd Subs not used: Romero, Jones, Fred, Dalot
Booked: Pogba 26 (Foul on Veratti), Young 30 (hauled back Mbappe), Lindelof 50 (Pulling Mbappe’s shirt), Ander Herrera 87 (trip on Mbappe), Pogba 89 (scything tackle on Dani Alves), Shaw 90+2 (foul on Dani Alves)
Sent off: Paul Pogba 89 (second yellow card)
Paris St Germain: Buffon, Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat, Verrati (Paredes 75), Marquinhos, Dani Alves, Draxler, Di Maria (Dabga 81), Mbappe
Paris St Germain Subs not used: Areola, Choupo-Moting, Kurzawa, Nkunku, Diaby
Booked: Kimpembe 12 (foul on Rashford), Draxler 19 (foul on Hererra), Bernat 34 (Clattered Young on the sideline), Dani Alves 62 (foul on Pogba)
Goals: Kimpembe 53, Mbappe 60
Attendance: 74,054