Same old flaws cost United but
IT WAS an old failing that got Manchester United in the second half. Paris Saint-Germain scored from a set piece and what proved to be the turning point of the game looked a little easy. That is the kind of thing that used to happen under the old manager.
So PSG will take that away goal back and indeed one more to Paris knowing that they have secured something valuable and if it was all part of the plan — had they identified a weakness beforehand — then maybe that was to be expected.
United are a team will flaws in it and here they were. They remain uncertain across the back and against a very good side — a side that came to Old Trafford with the courage to play on the front foot — that was exposed brutally in the opening 20 minutes of the second half. During that spell, the French champions scored twice and, in truth, could have scored four or five. During that period, United could not cope with the directness and pace of Kylian Mbappe nor indeed the intelligence and trickery of their former winger Angel di Maria.
Still, though, this was a night for United to reflect on with disappointment but not dismay. They have come a long way in a short time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the fact that this was a contest at all for 50 minutes says much about what the Norwegian has done.
It is worth remembering for a moment how United reached the knock out stages of the competition. Drawing 0-0 with Young Boys of Switzerland in added time here in early winter, they lumped a long ball up to Marouane Fellaini who controlled it with his hand, turned and drove it in to the goal.
It summed up the way that things were going for United under Jose Mourinho at the time.
That United looked utterly incapable of competing toe to toe with a good side and from that point of view, what we saw last night represented progress of sorts.
If Solskjaer was looking for excuses about the way the flow of this tie turned against his team