Arsene Wenger reveals Manchester United’s biggest mistake in loss to PSG

Arsene Wenger has criticised Manchester United’s performance against PSG in the Champions League on Tuesday night and says they were completely blown away in midfield. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his reign as Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe both got on the score sheet in the second half at Old Trafford, with the French champions bringing a 2-0 lead back to Paris.

And former Arsenal boss Wenger believes the match was decided in midfield, citing a huge gulf in quality between the two teams, and feels Thomas Tuchel tactically outwitted Solskjaer.

‘In the Champions League it is an important thing that you cannot be dominated in midfield and the whole evening Man United were dominated in midfield,’ Wenger explained on beIN SPORTS after the game. ‘Paris Saint-Germain played with five midfielders and they never lost the ball. Manchester United could never win the ball back and when they had the ball they lost it very quickly because Paris Saint-Germain dominated the midfield to win the ball back.

‘And they lost the battle there, in midfield. When you play at home and you cannot keep the ball, you’re always in trouble and that’s what happened. ‘Man United looked very poor in midfield compared to the class of PSG.

And basically it was a little advantage for Paris Saint-Germain to play with five midfielders tonight and with less offensive players.’

He continued: ‘The difference technically, and speed of understanding of the game, between the two teams was huge and became bigger as the game went on. ‘Man United played at home and had one shot on goal in a Champions League game – that tells you about the difference between the two teams.’

Wenger was also critical of United at half-time, before they had even conceded, saying: ‘We predicted Man United’s problems before the game. They cannot build the game up, especially at the back.