Manchester United endured a rather disappointing night at Old Trafford as they had to succumb to a 3-1 defeat against Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday night's Champions League encounter. The Red Devils were forced to finish the proceeding with 10 men after Fred was sent off in the second half having escaped a red card for headbutting Paredes inside the first 45 minutes.
In retrospect, the result at full-time was not a fair reflection of the encounter as Manchester United rue missed chances to close out the game earlier. Nevertheless, that was not until Fred luckily escaped punishment after headbutting PSG midfielder Leandro Parades in the 22nd minute. Match referee Daniele Orsato resorted to a quick VAR check for a possible red card but, instead, brandished the yellow card to the fury and disappointment of the PSG players and staff.
It looks as though Fred is a very lucky boy
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) December 2, 2020
He appeared to move his head towards Paredes off the ball, the referee took a closer look, and gave a yellow card
Already down a goal, that was a close call for Man Utd... pic.twitter.com/4c2JvDhxGO
Prior to the incident, Neymar Jr had put the visitors ahead inside the sixth minute. The Brazilian midfielder's goal was, however, cancelled out by Marcus Rashford's deflected shot before half time. 24 minutes after play resumed for the second half, Marquinhos headed home his side's second of the night. Barely a minute after, Fred received a second yellow card for a challenge on former Manchester United midfielder Ander Herrera.
Meanwhile, the Red Devils had two glorious opportunities to put the game to bed but ended up squandering both. In the first instance, Anthony Martial failed to put Marcus Rashford's pass into a gapping goal following a well-worked move by the Englishman and Edinson Cavani. Subsequently, the Uruguayan international saw a lobbed effort hitting the crossbar after breaking free on goal to go face-to-face with Keylor Navas.
Right at the end, Manchester United's inefficieny was punished as Neymar will get on the scoresheet once more in the 91st minute for a brace. The significance of the night's result is that the Brazilian superstar and his Paris Saint-Germain teammates will require just a draw when they meet Istanbul Basaksehir to progress to the last 16 stage of this season's UEFA Champions League. Relatively, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his red army need just a point in their final group game against an RB Leipzig side that is also in the race to finish in the top half of the Group H table.
