Manchester United are currently preparing to take on Paris-Saint Germain in the Reds’ hotly anticipated first Group H Champions League match-up at Parc des Princes.
United come into tonight’s game as huge underdogs which has been intensified after first-team regulars Mason Greenwood and captain Harry Maguire were both ruled out due to injury, as per the club’s official pre-match press conference.
In Maguire’s absence, manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer also announced that star-midfielder Bruno Fernandes will be taking the side’s armband.
However, it goes without saying, if Solskjaer’s seemingly inconsistent young Reds are going to take anything from last season’s finalists, they will need to be at their absolute best and we’ve looked at three areas where tonight’s game could be won and lost.
Bruno Fernandes’ first-steps towards legendary status
Fernandes is fast-becoming a United hero after a breath-taking first 10-months in Manchester have seen the Portuguse Magnifico be directly involved in 26 goals in just 27 apperances.
However, the gifted midfielder can take his first steps to going one better when he leads the United boys out and into the famous Parc des Princes.
United’s Champions League nights under the flood lights are made for special talents and when those talents combine their efforts with inspirational performances, we don’t tend to forget about them.
If United’s number-18 can wear the armband like a coat of armour and help drag his relatively inexperienced side across the finishing line and to success, Fernandes will forever go down as a United legend.
David De Gea at his awe-inspiring best
It goes without saying that United’s number-one will need to be on top form tonight if he is to keep out the prolific PSG trio of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar Jnr and former Red Devil Angel Di Maria.
United’s Spanish shot-stopper enjoyed a hugely impressive performance last time out against Newcastle United but he’ll need to turn it up a notch again tonight.
There can be no mishaps or mistakes during tonight’s important match. If United are going to take anything away from Paris, their Spanish number-one will need to be at his awe-inspiring best.
What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force?
Many great battles are forged from opposite ideologies and there is nothing more contrasting than the way PSG left-sided attacker Neymar Jnr and United right-back Wan-Bissaka ply their trades.
Wan-Bissaka will need to be at his defensive best if he is to shut out PSG’s Brazilian star-man, similarly, Neymar Jnr will need to be at his trickiest and deadliest best if he is to get the better of United’s spider-like defensive full-back.
Both Wan-Bissaka and Neymar Jnr cannot flourish on Europe’s biggest stage without the other failing so the time really has come where fans will discover what happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force.
