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Man Utd news: Rio Ferdinand picks the two players at fault for PSG defeat
MANCHESTER UNITED legend Rio Ferdinand claims the substitution of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial played a big role in their 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Man United: PSG defeat was a 'reality check' says Solskjaer
Lingard was taken off on the stroke of half time and Martial at the interval - both due to injury.
Alexis Sanchez and Juan Mata came on for the duo but were unable to make an impact in the final third and PSG scored twice to take a 2-0 lead into the second leg.
Ferdinand says defeat for Manchester United, their first under interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, could be good for them in the long run.
But he says ultimately the hosts were not the same side when Sanchez and Mata came on, as they were unable to keep up their intensity.
They started with intensity, defending from the front, which the injuries at half time meant it fizzled out in the second half
And he cannot see a way back for Manchester United in the return match in Paris on March 6.
“I think this is a reality check for this Man United team,” Ferdinand said on BT Sport.
“But I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I think it’s something they’re going to have to learn from.
“Now we’ll see their reaction to it and I think that’s important.
“I’m sure in his [Solskjaer’s] tenure this would have been a part he was preparing for, a moment when they lost.
“And now it is prepare and react to this defeat.
“Tonight, they didn’t get going as an attacking force at all.
“We’ve seen some great attacking play over the last few weeks. Today we didn’t see any examples of that.
“They started with intensity, defending from the front, which the injuries at half time meant it fizzled out in the second half.
“They didn’t get around players, you needed players out there to be ratting around.
“Second half that was non-existent and as an attacking force they offered very little.
“And this PSG team, without two of their best attacking players, coasted through the second half of this game and really put this game to bed, I think the tie too.”