Pogba Sees Red as PSG Hands Solksjaer’s Man Utd First Defeat
Manchester United must mount a miraculous recovery operation to keep their Champions League campaign alive after they were overpowered by Paris St. Germain 2-0 at Old Trafford last night.
Second half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe secured victory for the French champions, with Paul Pogba sent off for two yellow cards late on.
United’s revival with 10 wins in 11 games under interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer raised hopes that this was the night they could reclaim their place in Europe’s elite.
Instead, they were outclassed by PSG to suffer their first European home defeat by a margin of more than one goal and will now need to produce something remarkable in Paris on 6 March to stand a chance of advancing to the Champions League quarter-finals.
Solskjaer’s hopes were hampered by first-half injuries to Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial but PSG made light of the absence of injured Brazilian superstar Neymar and striker Edinson Cavani.
Former Manchester United misfit Angel Di Maria was their tormentor, his 53rd minute corner allowing Kimpembe, arguably fortunate to still be on the pitch, to escape the attentions of Nemanja Matic and side-foot past David De Gea.
Elsewhere, Nicolo Zaniolo’s two goals gave Roma the edge over Porto in their Champions League last-16 first leg.
The teenager, one of Roma’s few bright sparks in a poor season, controlled Edin Dzeko’s pass before drilling a low effort past Iker Casillas.
He added a second from six yards out after Dzeko’s 20-yard shot hit the post.
But Porto got an away goal when Adrian Lopez scored after Tiquinho Soares’ mis-hit shot landed in his path.
Roma, who are sixth in Serie A, had the better chances, with Dzeko having a shot tipped on to the post by Casillas.
It is a first defeat for Porto - excluding penalty shootouts - in 27 games. They had won their last five Champions League matches to come through the group stages unbeaten.
The second leg in Porto is on Wednesday, 6 March.
Speaking shortly after the game, Roma captain Daniele de Rossi: “I would’ve been happy if someone had told me before the game that we’d win 2- 1. It’s not the best result, it changes a lot from 2- 0, so let’s say we have the advantage 51- 49.
“We had studied Porto and knew they were a bit more physical, less focused on passing than under previous coaches. They are quite different to most Portuguese clubs too, but we knew they played this type of football and Ivan Marcano had warned us they were a very different side now.”