Manchester United have a mountain to climb in the Champions League last 16.
Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain means the Red Devils must win by a big margin at the Parc des Princes – which has been a fortress in recent years – on March 3.
And they’ll have to do it without midfield talisman Paul Pogba, who is out of the second leg after receiving a red card for two bookable offences.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went easy on the Frenchman after the game by saying he didn’t mean to catch Dani Alves’ knee when he tried to shield the ball for his second yellow card.
“He is trying to get his body across and Alves is clever enough to put his foot in, so it hits him,” said Solskjaer. “I know Paul wants to shield the ball and it’s unlucky and it hits him on the knee.”
Paul Ince, on the other hand, wasn’t so forgiving as he labelled Pogba “stupid” for his challenges on Marco Verratti and Alves.
“Pogba really let himself down against PSG,” Ince told Paddy Power. “Just when he’s won the fans over, and he’s doing everything you expect of a top player, he goes and behaves like that.
“I know it’s because he was frustrated at the game, but also it’s because Marquinhos was too good for him, he did a real job on him.
Pogba looked visibly annoyed with himself as he walked off the pitch and down the tunnel after being dismissed by referee Daniele Orsato.
And according to The Sun’s Neil Custis, Pogba’s rage continued in the dressing room as he “smashed up his locker”.
He later apologised to his teammates for getting sent off before Solskjaer followed in the footsteps of Sir Alex Ferguson by giving United’s players the hairdryer treatment.
A source said of Solskjaer’s rant: “He told them that they tried to play the game as if it was a one-legged tie.
“He wanted them to remain patient and not to concede easy goals and they then went and conceded from a relatively easy set piece. Everything just went downhill from there.”