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At full time, the Manchester United players stood in the middle of Old Trafford in disappointment. The more the floodlights shone, the more the opportunity the team had just missed became clear.
The Red Devils went into Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League game against PSG with a chance to seal qualification to the knockout stage. All they needed to do was not lose the game.
However, after 90 minutes of action, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his charges fell to a disappointing 3-1 loss against the Ligue 1 champions. The blame game has expectedly been in full swing following Manchester United's defeat.
Some have blamed Fred for getting himself sent off while others have called out the team’s attackers for their wastefulness in front of goal. A chuck of the blame, though, should go to the manager for failing to make the necessary changes during the game.
Fred should have gone off at half-time against PSG
Fred was very fortunate not to have been sent off in the first half after headbutting Leandro Paredes. While the referee only gave him a yellow card, the Brazilian seemed irrational with every tackle he made.
With Marcus Rashford canceling Neymar’s opener, Manchester United were in a strong position after going into the break on level terms. But, by keeping Fred on the pitch, Solskjaer failed to protect the midfielder and the team as a whole.
Everyone could see that Fred was in danger of being red-carded, except for the coaches on Manchester United’s bench. Solskjaer later admitted that he should have substituted Fred after half-time, and said he had to take the blame for letting his team down.
"We spoke about staying calm and on your feet [at the break]. The second yellow card was nowhere near a foul. Ander knows that. Fred shouldn’t have put his head towards Paredes [but] I don’t think he touched him. He was a bit lucky to stay on,” Solskjaer said, as quoted by the Guardian.
“Fred played really disciplined in the second half and when he makes a tackle like this, you can’t really fault the boy. But after the decision the ref made, you maybe look back and say you should have [taken him off]. Fred knows he shouldn’t put his head towards someone even though he doesn’t touch him," Solskjaer added.
Manchester United have to do it the hard way
Manchester United remain in contention to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League, but losing to PSG means they now have to do it the hard way.
As it stands, the Red Devils, PSG and RB Leipzig are all on nine points going into the last group game. Manchester United need at least a draw to qualify but it won’t be easy, as RB Leipzig are not an easy side to play.
