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For Manchester United, it was a jerky revival of trance that nine convincing wins in ten games lend themselves to production.
The Paris Saint-Germain, in its ruthless organized efficiency, cast a fine light on the weaknesses of a team that, despite a clear improvement of its form under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, remains darkened by an equal mixture of imperfection and inexperience.
This is one of the most impressive performances that Old Trafford has witnessed in recent years: PSG had the enviable honor of becoming the first team to win more than one goal in the European competition on the famous old field – and Thomas Tuchel's team reminded Europe and the Premier League that United still has a lot to do to find its place among the elite.
The table of the Premier League, in its current form, seems intended at least to be influenced, if not decided, by the way Manchester City and Liverpool stand out in their respective trips to United. Jurgen Klopp's players are the first to climb on February 24, before Pep Guardiola and his records make the short trip across the city on March 16.
These matches, based on the evidence of the season so far, will allow United to pbad tests as tough as the one presented by Kylian Mbappé and Co. in Tuesday's 2-0 defeat.
The most impressive facet of PSG's performance has undoubtedly been to limit Paul Pogba's influence in the center of the field. The badysis of Arsene Wenger is the most succinct. "In the Champions League, we can not be dominated in the middle of the field," said the former Arsenal coach in his speech " be in sports.
"All night, Man United were dominated in the middle of the field, Paris Saint-Germain played with five midfielders and they never lost the ball Manchester United could never get the ball back. And when they got the ball, they lost it very quickly because Paris Saint-Germain dominated the midfield to get the ball back and they lost the battle in the middle. "
City's 2-1 win at Old Trafford last season was the product of two loose goals that contradicted the dominant Blues, but Pep Guardiola might well hope for a more convincing score after realizing the dull nature of the United's offensive game against PSG. Pogba, winner of the World Cup, was rendered ineffective.
Marquinos, the Brazilian central defender midfielder, limited Pogba's involvement to just 41 badists, a third less than his usual production. The look of Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial was made insignificant. It was a performance that could have left the Guardiola spirit wandering about the possibility of acquiring Marquinos as a solution to the long-standing problem of Fernandinho's successor.
Of course, it is unlikely – especially because of political tensions between Abu Dhabi, the owners of the city, and Qatar, owners of the PSG – but the spectacle of the 24 years will surely have helped write the game plan of Guardiola for the trip to Old Trafford for him.
Julian Draxler, the German winger, played behind Pogba and deflected from right to left on the pitch to get Ángel Di Maria down on PSG's left flank. Ashley Young watched every inch of a 33-year-old veteran playing out of position as the Argentinean exploited the space left vacant by Young's dubious stance and it was a wonder that Leroy Sané could produce with a similar opportunity.
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