Manchester United and PSG served up a wonderfully chaotic 90 minutes of Champions League football on Wednesday evening as the French champions ran out 3-1 winners at Old Trafford.
United were on top for much of the game but had Fred sent off with 21 minutes remaining and a brace from Neymar ultimately condemned the Red Devils to defeat, leaving Group H fascinatingly poised going into the final round of fixtures.
PSG took the lead after six minutes, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe combining neatly before the former tucked home at the near post.
United should have been a goal and a player down when Fred appeared to head butt Leandro Paredes. The referee went to check the monitor, initially couldn’t find the monitor and eventually opted to give the Brazilian a yellow card. The pair then continued to scrap for the rest of the first half.
Fred was treading a fine line and United fans were insistent he should have been replaced ASAP. But Ole knows best and I’m sure no harm came of it.
Not to be outdone, Scott McTominay and Neymar then enjoyed a little scrap of their own after the Brazilian forward found himself on the receiving end of a thumping sliding tackle, with a petulant argument between the pair continuing into the tunnel at half time.
United came out all guns blazing in the second half with the game there for the taking. Edinson Cavani struck the cross bar with a fabulous chip, and Anthony Martial saw two terrific opportunities go begging.
But with the Red Devils comfortably the better side, PSG then inevitably took the lead once more, Marquinhos poking home from a corner.
And just to rub salt into the wound, having not been sent off for something he did do in the first half, Fred was sent off for something he didn’t do in the second after being judged to have caught Ander Herrera with a late tackle.
This instantly begged the question as to why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had not taken Fred off at half time, with the United midfielder treading on thin ice for most of the game with Nemanja Matic sat on the bench.
United continued to push for an equaliser, before Neymar wrapped up the victory in style for PSG. The forward shimmied past a handful of United defenders on the halfway line, charged into the box and applied the finishing touches to the move that he started.
Filth. Any silver linings, Ole?