“He was unlucky,” Ole Gunnar defends Pogba’s red card

Manchester United’s Champions League hopes were left hanging by a thread after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered his first defeat as caretaker boss on a night of misery at Old Trafford.

Solskjaer insisted that United can still reach the quarter-finals despite losing the first-leg of their last 16 tie 2-0 at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain.

But they will have to do it without Paul Pogba who is suspended for the return game in Paris in three weeks’ time after being sent off in the 89th minute.

‘It’s a reality check for us,’ said Solskjaer, who had won 10 of his first 11 games in charge. ‘This is another level than we’re used to.

‘But mountains are there to be climbed. You can’t lay down and say this is over.

‘At this club you bounce back. There is desire and determination to put this right. We will go to Paris to give it a go.

‘We have the league and the FA Cup, and I’ve told the players not to feel sorry for themselves. We’ve got Chelsea and Liverpool to look forward to in the next two games.

‘Anybody feeling sorry for themselves probably won’t play against Chelsea.’

No club has ever recovered from losing the first leg of a Champions League tie by two goals or more and still progressed.

After a goalless first half, PSG struck twice in the space of eight minutes through Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe.

To make matters worse for United, both goals were set up by Angel Di Maria who was booed on his return to Old Trafford and also appeared to be pelted with objects by the home fans.

Solskjaer felt Kimpembe was ‘very lucky’ to still be on the pitch after committing a series of fouls, and claimed that Pogba was harshly dismissed by Italian referee Daniele Orsato.

The Frenchman was booked for a foul on Marco Verratti and then shown a second yellow card for raking his studs down the leg of Dani Alves.

‘He’s unlucky,’ added Solskjaer, who lost Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard to injury at the end of the first half.

‘Paul Pogba is trying to get his body across and Dani Alves is clever enough to put his foot in there.

‘I’m disappointed we’re not going to have Paul in the next game. That’s a big blow.’

It was the first time that United have lost a European game at Old Trafford by more than one goal and puts PSG in firm control of the tie.

Coach Thomas Tuchel praised Di Maria – a £59.7m flop during his one season at United – for brushing off the jeers of the home fans, and claimed that Ashley Young should have received a second booking for shoving his old team-mate into the perimeter wall.

‘I think he was lucky because it was not necessary,’ said Tuchel. ‘He (Young) plays many, many times here, and he knows there is a hill, so there was no need to push Di Maria into the fans. I am happy there was no injury.

‘I think the guy (Di Maria) is very competitive, like all South American guys. If you tease him it doesn’t make him weaker, of course.’

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