Rashford reprises role as PSG’s punisher-in-chief
United ace nets late winner to revive memories of famous 2019 triumph
PARIS — It was a case of deja vu as Marcus Rashford returned to haunt Paris Saint-Germain, scoring with another late winner as Manchester United won 2-1 in its opening Champions League group game on Tuesday.
Two seasons ago United knocked out PSG in dramatic style to reach the competition’s quarterfinals, with a nerveless Rashford scoring a last-gasp penalty to win the second leg in Paris 3-1 and progress on the away-goals rule.
This time he netted in the 87 th minute at a rain-soaked Parc des Princes, collecting a pass from substitute Paul Pogba and easily turning his marker before smacking a low shot past goalkeeper Keylor Navas from the edge of the penalty area.
“When it’s late on, you might only get one chance and you need to do your best to make it count,” Rashford said.
He hopes this triumph will boost United’s Premier League campaign, with United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side languishing in 15th place.
“It’s a good performance but we also have a lot to build on,” Rashford said. “As players, it’s important to believe in the system that the manager tells us to play in.”
United was leading through midfielder Bruno Fernandes’ twice-taken penalty midway through the first half when United forward Anthony Martial rose to clear Neymar’s corner from the left, but instead his glancing header flew past goalkeeper David de Gea to make it 1-1 in the 55th.
De Gea denied Angel Di Maria early in the first half and Kylian Mbappe just after the break with a superb one-handed save that will doubtless boost his confidence after some heavy criticism of his performances in recent months.
Navas had thwarted Rashford with two excellent stops in the last 20 minutes, but even he could not get his hand to the ball as Rashford arrowed his winner into the bottom left corner — to much jubilation from Solskjaer.
“The performance was good and we deserved to win it. It was a better performance than last time and it shows how we have developed,” Solskjaer said.
“We played against a fantastic team, and we have to defend well. The players have the keys. I don’t think there is any secret, we need to play well and defend well to win against PSG.”
With no fans in attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic, Solskjaer acknowledged that this victory did not feel the same as the 2019 triumph. “It’s a different feeling from the last time we won here, it’s at the start of the group stage but we’ve beaten a fantastic team,” the Norwegian told BT Sport.
“Last time it was a knockout and it was euphoric, this is sterile without the fans but it’s still excellent and we deserved to win.”
‘Can only improve’
In Group H’s other game, last season’s semifinalist RB Leipzig won 2-0 against Champions League firsttimer Istanbul Basaksehir.
PSG lost last season’s final to Bayern Munich and travels to Turkey under early pressure next week. It was a disjointed display from the French team.
“The good news was that we could only play better. It’s not hard to play better than that,” said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel. “We lacked rhythm and intensity. It was surprising as we prepared the game well.”
Neymar again failed to score after drawing a blank in the Final 8 in Lisbon, where he was poor in the final.
Mbappe was PSG’s most dangerous player and almost scored a spectacular solo goal in the 49th when he weaved in from the left before forcing a fine save from de Gea.
While the goalkeepers were impressive, both sides had key players missing through injury and neither had a commanding presence in midfield.
The fast-paced game became an end-to-end contest with one counterattack following the other and gaps everywhere that should have been better exploited.
PSG centerback Presnel Kimpembe was highly critical of his team.
“I don’t have an explanation, we simply were not good. We weren’t strong in the challenge, we were slow to track back,” he said. “We started the game badly and finished it badly. It’s a pity to lose points this way at home. We were too slow to make tackles and paid a heavy price.”
For while Mbappe’s pace tormented United so did Rashford’s speed and Martial’s mobility. It was Martial who drew a clumsy foul from Abdou Diallo — replacing the injured Marquinhos — for United’s penalty.
Fernandes had missed a penalty for the first time in a United jersey against Newcastle on Saturday. Navas guessed the right way to stop his effort this time, but a video review showed the Costa Rica goalkeeper had both feet off his line when Fernandes struck the ball.
The Portuguese showed considerable nerve to retake the kick, rather than let someone else do so, and this time Navas guessed wrongly as Fernandes aimed the same way.
“It could only go better after two misses in a row,” Solskjaer said. “He’s not going to stop taking them, but you need focus and character. Bruno showed that today.”