After a game that was being referred to as Manchester United’s return to the glorious Champions League nights at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer described the 2-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain as a reality check.
It was a game in which his side was deservedly, beaten by a better side in a game that they could not manage in their heads. The cagey first half affair clearly attested that United was nervous. They weren’t as calm or composed as they have looked in the other games under Solskjaer.
Not because PSG had hurried them, but because the occasion seemed to have gone to their heads. Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard pressed high up the pitch in the early 15 minutes, but they lacked the incisiveness on the ball to play a killer ball. It wasn’t just them who didn’t seem to have their heads in the right place on a big night, but every United player seemed so.
Thiago Silva was probably the only composed player on the pitch in the first 45 minutes, while the rest of PSG looked cautious. They were willing to weigh the opposition up – know what they bring to the plate.
It's Manchester United's biggest decision since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson... should Ole Gunnar Solskjaer get the permanent manager job?
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 9, 2019
Rebecca Lowe, Robbie Earle and Kyle Martino discuss. pic.twitter.com/K0lV0U0RYl
While it can be said that the United shoulders dropped after the injuries to Lingard and Anthony Martial, that is something which shows how mentally mature a side is on big occasions. Teams that have the know-how of playing in a game as big as this one, would have reacted differently.
Instead of falling off the pace, they could have improved. After the first goal went in, the heads went after the dropping of the shoulders.