Manchester United Player Ratings: Paris Saint-Germain (H)
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All good things must come to an end and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s honeymoon period at Manchester United was brought to a conclusive halt by Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
PSG travelled to Old Trafford for the first leg of a highly-anticipated Champions League Round of 16 clash, which many considered United favourites for after the visitors lost both Neymar and Edinson Cavani to injury just a week before.
Thomas Tuchel’s side showed exactly why the draw was initially seen as a nightmare one for the Red Devils though, with Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe striking in the second half to earn a potentially tie-ending 2-0 victory.
United were fully in the contest before half-time but lost both Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial at the break. A forced move which saw the attacking tempo leave the field with them.
Here are my player ratings from a disappointing European night.
GK: David de Gea - 6
Neither of the goals were his fault and the deficit could have been worse if it wasn’t for his saves to deny Angel di Maria in the first half and Mbappe in the second.
RB: Ashley Young - 5
Stamped his authority on ex-team-mate Di Maria in the first half and sent in some dangerous crosses throughout. Was nowhere to be seen for PSG’s second though.
CB: Eric Bailly - 5
His pace was always going to be needed in this match and he fully justified his selection over Phil Jones but could’ve done more to stop Mbappe’s goal.
CB: Victor Lindelof - 5
Looked like a real leader once again and caught the eye at one point in the first half by tracking Mbappe’s run down the right before cutting out the danger.
LB: Luke Shaw - 4
Looked like he lost all confidence going forward and left Martial stranded down the left flank on too many occasions.
CM: Ander Herrera - 7
Looked like United’s best player after Lingard went off. He was the only man playing for the home side that won the ball more than he lost it.
CM: Nemanja Matic - 4
His poor marking gave Kimpembe all the time in the world to put PSG in control and was uncharacteristically careless with the ball.
CM: Paul Pogba - 5
Showed glimpses of quality but simply couldn’t escape Marquinhos in midfield and grew frustrated, leading to the second yellow which means he’ll miss the trip to Paris.
CAM: Jesse Lingard - 6
Had PSG on the edge in the early stages and brought the tempo right up. Was hugely missed in the second half which proved his impact on this team.
ST: Marcus Rashford - 4
I think the Mbappe vs Rashford debate was emphatically put the bed. Repeatedly tried too much and disappeared as PSG took control.
ST: Anthony Martial - 4
Barely saw the ball in the time he was on the pitch and when he did receive it was really wasteful. Will still be missed if he’s not ready for Chelsea though.
SUB: Alexis Sanchez ('45+4) - 2
Even Solskjaer has lost hope in him.
SUB: Juan Mata ('45) - 3
Ineffective.
SUB: Romelu Lukaku ('85) - 3
The game was dead and buried by the time he arrived.
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