With Neymar out and Solskjaer in, United-PSG suddenly looks like a fair fight
With Manchester United rejuvenated and Neymar injured, this Champions League round of 16 tie suddenly looks like an even contest.
When the Champions League round of 16 draw was made in December, Manchester United-PSG didn’t stand out as perhaps it should have. With United not only struggling for results, but playing some of the least inspiring soccer of any elite team in Europe under Jose Mourinho, PSG looked like clear favorites, especially with the second leg to be played in Paris.
December was a long time ago. Since then, Mourinho has been sacked, United rejuvenated under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and, perhaps most importantly, two of PSG’s standout attacking trio, Neymar and Edinson Cavani, have been injured. All of a sudden, this looks like one of the best ties of the first knockout round.
Solskjaer was brought in as an interim, a stop-gap of sorts between Mourinho and another big name that would arrive in the summer. The speed with which he’s transformed the side, however, has put his name squarely in the conversation for the permanent job. A win in the Champions League over one of the most talented teams in the world will certainly help with those efforts.
Following Saturday’s demolition of Fulham, United have now won 10 and drawn one of their 11 matches under Solskjaer. Perhaps more importantly as far as the Champions League is concerned, the likes of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford look totally transformed having been freed of the negative (both tactically and temperamentally) presence of Mourinho. There are reasons to doubt Solskjaer’s fitness for the long-term job — United have ridden their luck at times over the past month and a half — but a squad of this talent, playing with this much confidence, should give pause to any opponent.
PSG have had a far less eventful season, dominating Ligue 1 by an even greater margin than usual. Even after a 2-1 loss to Lyon at the beginning of the month, Thomas Tuchel’s side remain 10 points clear at the top of the table, having played two fewer games than second-place Lille. Even more impressive, they boast a goal difference of plus-55, having scored 68 goals.
That, of course, is a reflection of the quality of their attacking triumvirate of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe, who have been as deadly as advertised. All three have over 20 goals in all competitions this season.
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As always, however, dominating in France is the least of the club’s worries: Their goal is Champions League glory. If they’re to secure it, they will have to do much of the work without their best player, as Neymar will miss both legs with a foot injury sustained against Strasbourg. An injury to Cavani this weekend means the Uruguayan is also likely to miss the first leg at least.
It’s not as if PSG are entirely out of quality options. Julian Draxler and Angel Di Maria are highly accomplished players, while Dani Alves will also provide some attacking impetus, but the burden of absorbing the loss of Neymar and Cavani will fall primarily to the 20-year-old Mbappe. The Frenchman’s talent isn’t in question, but this will be first time in his career he’s been the sole creative and goalscoring focal point of his team’s attack on this sort of stage. His attempt to handle that responsibility is likely to be one of the most fascinating storylines of the round of 16.
There is more to say about both side’s seasons, about Tuchel’s tactical tweaks, especially with injures, about United’s Jekyll and Hyde season — but it all feels a little beside the point. On Tuesday at Old Trafford, we’ll see versions of United (in Europe against truly elite opposition) and PSG (without Neymar and Cavani) we haven’t seen all season. For the neutrals out there, that’s surely a good thing. Suddenly this feels like a contest.