Ole Gunnar Solskjær traveled with his men to the French capital for the inaugural game week of the 20/21 UEFA Champions League season 19 months after the historic night at Parc des Princes when Manchester United overturned a 2-0 deficit of the first leg with an incredible 3-1 victory against Paris Saint-Germain to become the only team ever to do so.
Paris Saint-Germain came into this game on the back of five successive wins, scoring 16 and conceding just one in those games, after starting the season sluggishly with 1-0 defeats over the opening two Ligue 1 fixtures.
Similarly, United also started the season poorly with two defeats in the first three Premier League games, which also includes the 6-1 battering by Tottenham at Old Trafford. The most recent 4-1 win in the Premier League over Newcastle United seemed to have gathered some momentum for the Red Devils as they looked to come into their grove.
Indeed, Manchester United put up a strong performance to beat the French champions 2-1 and created yet another history by becoming the only team to beat PSG twice at their home turf in the Champions League. In this tactical analysis, we will do an analysis of the tactics employed by both the managers. We will also see how Solskjær’s United outclassed Thomas Tuchel’s men in an important game.
Lineups
Injuries to several key players forced Tuchel to make personnel changes in his favoured 4-3-3 system. Layvin Kurzawa returned to the starting lineup after suspension as he replaced injured Mitchel Bakker at the left-back. Danilo Pereira and Ander Herrera replaced Leandro Paredes and Rafinha in the midfield alongside Idrissa Gueye. Other notable returns were Ángel Di María and Neymar on both sides of the wings and formed a formidable trio along with Kylian Mbappé, who played centrally in Mauro Icardis absence.
As for United, Harry Maguires absence naturally weakened the United backline. Hence, Solskjær provided extra protection at the back by opting for the 5-3-2 system without possession. The captain was replaced by Axel Tuanzebe, who returned to the starting lineup after over a year. Luke Shaw was deployed as a makeshift centre-back on the left as he had displayed stellar performances in that position during the previous season. This paved the way for the debut of Alex Telles, who occupied the vacant wing-back position on the left. Anthony Martial returned to the team after missing out the league game against Newcastle due to suspension while the new signing Facundo Pellistri was named on the bench.
