This one will be hard to take for Manchester United supporters – the Reds have lost their strong grip of Group H after Wednesday nights defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in what was an encouraging performance from Solskjær’s side.
They were left to rue their missed chances are Fernandes, Martial and Cavani all came close where they should have done better.
A red card decision was ultimately the decider but even after the red card to Fred, who was walking on eggshells for almost the entire game, it looked like an equaliser was possible.
It wasn’t to be and instead the Parisians scored their third on the break and took the advantage in their head-to-head record against both United and RB Leipzig.
Harry Maguire was stellar in defence and continued his good form. “Disappointing night,” he said after the game. “We wanted to win the game, win the group. Football is a game of fine margins.”
“We had better chances. Their two goals are scrappy goals – ricochet and pinball around the box. I feel we deserved something.
“It’s strange how he [referee] gave a yellow card [in the first half]. It’s either a red card or nothing. It’s not a yellow card [in the second half]. He wins the ball. I was two yards away, the linesman was five yards.
“Every time you go to the floor – especially in Europe – you get a booking.
“You’ve got to take your chances and not give away soft goals — we’re still in control of going through to the knockout stages.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjær admitted that he should maybe have substituted Fred at half-time but was conclusive in claiming that he should not have received a second yellow card. The Norwegian also lamented United’s failure to take their chances in tight European games.
“I thought Fred was lucky to stay on when I saw the referee going to look at the screen [in the first half],” he said. “The second yellow card is nowhere near and Ander [Herrera] knows that as well – he knows.”
“If Marquinhos had bigger studs on he’d have been offside. It’s tight in games like these.”
“It was a very good game which deserved fans. With a bit more clinical finishing we should have finished the game. They were there for the taking.
“We had some big chances. The difference when you get to the big games is the clinical moments.”
Marcus Rashford, who scored for a third straight game against PSG, is an injury concern ahead of this weekend but the Norwegian gave a positive update in his post-match interview. “Rashford has a niggly shoulder injury, we’ll see but we hope he will be involved against West Ham.”
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