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Man Utd tactics unravelled... the THREE major things that went wrong against PSG
MANCHESTER UNITED were well beaten at Old Trafford by Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their last 16 Champions League clash.
Man United: PSG defeat was a 'reality check' says Solskjaer
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s unbeaten start after replacing Jose Mourinho was halted by an incisive PSG attack even without Neymar and Edinson Cavani.
And three things went well and truly wrong for Manchester United as they took on the French champions.
The first was the most basic of errors made by Nemanja Matic as he lost Presnel Kimpembe from a corner.
The PSG defender made no mistake in guiding the ball past David De Gea who had no chance of stopping the effort.
Matic may have assumed Eric Bailly was set to clear the danger in front of him but simply put at this level, there are no excuses for losing your man.
There was controversy around Kimpembe even being on the pitch when he netted in the 53rd minute.
The defender was booked in the 11th minute by referee Daniele Orsato who was happy to brandish the yellow card on 10 occasions throughout the evening.
Kimpembe made three fouls after being booked but was allowed to remain on the pitch and made United pay.
Kylian Mbappe was at his best throughout against the Red Devils outshining Marcus Rashford in the process.
The United defence could not deal with the electric pace of the France international.
For the second PSG goal, Mbappe got perfectly in between Eric Bailly and Victor Lindelof who were helpless in stopping the striker from tapping home.
The 20-year-old made his run from deep and United’s centre-backs could not cope with his pace and power.
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A precise ball from the impressive Angel di Maria confounded Solskjaer’s side to defeat.
Phil Neville was particularly impressed with Mbappe throughout at Old Trafford.
He said: “That's what happens when you've got speed on the pitch. Ashley Young got caught forward.
“The speed from Mbappe was amazing - that was a brilliant finish. Devastating counter-attack from PSG.”
Rio Ferdinand believes the Champions League loss was a reality check for this United side who still have much to learn.
He said: “This is a reality check for this United team. It's not a bad thing, it's something to learn from. In this tenure Ole Gunner Solskjaer has probably been preparing for this loss.
“But tonight they didn't show anything as an attacking force. They didn't get around players. This PSG team, without two of their best attacking players, coasted.”
Solskjaer was matter of fact in his analysis of the match afterwards.
“They had the momentum after the first goal and controlled the game,” he said.
“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 can go either way, it's not going to be a season defining one, it's one we have to learn from.”
The second leg in Paris takes place on March 6.