“Even worse”.
Those two words, splashed across L’Equipe’s front page on Thursday morning perfectly summed up the mood outside the Parc des Princes the night before, as fans were unable to fully comprehend what they had just witnessed.
RMC Sport, who broadcasted the game in France, tried to interview a few to get some thoughts, but all they could muster were more questions: how did this happen against what essentially was Manchester United’s second team?
Unfortunately, some ghosts never go away, and the Ligue 1 champions, still haunted by Barcelona’s ‘remontada’ years ago, succumbed to the same nerves, allowing their opponents back into the tie within the first three minutes.
At fault was Thilo Kehrer, given a 2/10 by L’Equipe, who describe his evening as a ‘nightmare’.
Never recovering, the German centre-back was made to ‘suffer’ by Marcus Rashford, whose pressure led to the suicidal pass Lukaku eagerly latched upon before rounding Gianluigi Buffon and slotting home.
Perhaps the most inexplicable of all was the Italian goalkeeper’s performance, who is also handed a 2/10 by the French newspaper.
Bought by Paris Saint-Germain to prevent such situations, Buffon fumbled Rashford’s long-range attempt when it seemed harder not to secure it, allowing Lukaku to bag his second of the night.
An ‘indefensible’ error, according to L’Equipe, while his ‘slowness’ to get up to try and stop the Belgian’s follow-up effort is highlighted by Le Parisien.
Among the 3/10s, and there’s a few (six of them, including Thomas Tuchel), we find Presnel Kimpembe, who some might argue should have been in the stands with Paul Pogba on the evening, somehow escaping a second yellow in the first leg for a foul on Rashford just after half-time.
Perhaps it was karma, or just bad luck, but his attempt to block Diogo Dalot’s wayward shot saw him extend his arm just a little bit too much, giving the referee no choice but to give a ‘cruel but fair’ (L’Equipe) penalty in the dying minutes after some nail biting VAR consultation.
No one on Paris Saint-Germain’s team is given above a 5/10, which isn’t the case on Manchester United’s side, with seven outfield players handed 6s or above.
The man of the match for the national French newspaper was Romelu Lukaku, who picked up his third brace in the space of a week, praised for his ‘concentration’ on the two first goals and for his ability to hold up play when Manchester United managed to get out of their half.
Marcus Rashford, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling all get 7s, but the best grade of them all goes to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, handed a rare 9 by the harsh outlet.
Highlighting his ‘belief’, L’Equipe also point out his ‘coherent’ game plan, as his team ‘accepted to suffer’ for large parts of the fixture before ‘throwing all their forces into the battle’ when it was needed.
It will take some time for everything to settle in Paris, and Thomas Tuchel’s job should be safe for the time being, but fans certainly won’t forget what happened on March 6th 2019 anytime soon.
Some will blame the manager, but, for the most part, it all comes down to the players’ mentality, as explained by PSG fan Julien, who spoke to Le Parisien after the game: “We’re a team, we’re at home, at the Parc des Princes. We thought we were good, but really, we’re weak, we’re useless.
“It’s got nothing to do with Barcelona, Manchester United or anything else. It’s that players come to Paris Saint-Germain for the money. They don’t have love for the shirt or the club. We have to say something. For away games, we do everything for them, and they do nothing… nothing”.
Sometimes, that’s what it all comes down to: belief.
Completely devoid of it during José Mourinho last few months at the helm, Manchester United have rediscovered the one thing that made them one of the most feared clubs around the world, and all thanks to a man whose goal in the 1999 Champions League final led to one of the most iconic phrases in British football, still applicable to this day: “Football, bloody hell”.
