Champions League 2018/19, Manchester United 0 - 2 PSG: 5 Hits and Flops
The honeymoon for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has come to an end at Manchester United. The Norwegian, who has won ten of his last eleven games has been handed out a 2-0 defeat by Thomas Tuchel's Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16.
It was an equally balanced first half, but the visitors put in a completely different display to take a two-goal cushion into the second leg at Parc Des Princes. Just when PSG were tapping on the door since the second half kick off, they opened the scoring through their defender Presnel Kimpembe through a set piece in the 53rd minute.
Thomas Tuchel's side soon made it two within seven minutes to put the game beyond the reach of the Red Devils. World's costliest teenager Kylian Mbappe found the back of the net through an exquisite defense-splitting ball from Angel Di Maria.
To make things worse for Solskjaer, Paul Pogba was sent off for an ugly challenge on Dani Alves later in the game. This means that the French International will not be available for the second leg at his home country. The likes of Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier will be starting the next leg on March 7th, but Neymar remains a doubt for the second leg too.
There were plenty of standout performances in this game. In this article, we shall look at the five hits and flops from this PSG's easy victory over Manchester United.
#1 Hit - Marquinhos
Marquinhos was told to operate in his secondary position following the injury crisis they are facing currently. The Brazilian was the best player on the pitch and was an easy winner over Paul Pogba in the middle of the park.
With supreme positional sense, the 24-year-old was bossing in the midfield department. His partnership with Marco Verratti eased the burden on the defenders who did not have much to do throughout the game.
He was gliding past the opponents for fun by completing 100% takeons which speaks about his mouthwatering display. People often pick some moments, but PSG's #5 was phenomenal from minute one to the end of the game. Even though Thiago Silva won the man of the match award, Marquinhos had to do more than his compatriot.