Rashford Late Goal Wins United Over PSG

Marcus rashford (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Marcus Rashford's goal in the dying minutes led Manchester United to beat Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the first Group H match of the Champions League which took place at the Parc des Princes Stadium on Tuesday, October 20 local time.

Initially PSG fell behind first through a penalty scored by Bruno Fernandes, Anthony Martial then made an own goal and forced the score to draw 1-1. Towards the end of the minute, Martial had to thank Rashford because thanks to his goal, Manchester United still took home the three points, as reported by Antara, Wednesday.

This victory made the predictions of a number of pundits incontrovertible. Initially they wanted PSG to win easily because they reflected on the reflection of last season as finalists, while MU in the domestic competition was still playing windy things. However, the 2-1 final result made the competition in Group H to be even tighter.

The achievement of these three points was also thanks to the carefulness of manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer who was able to kill the movements of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Di Maria.

At the start of the match PSG immediately pressed MU's defense through the front line trio. Di Maria opened the first chance, but a shot from outside the penalty box was pushed over by De Gea.

Manchester United were awarded a penalty in the 20th minute after Anthony Martial was brought down by Abdou Diallo. The referee, who was not far from the position of the two players, immediately pointed to the spot.

There was drama in Bruno Fernandez's penalty kick. Initially Keylor Navas was able to ward off the ball, but the referee assumed he had moved past the line. The penalty kick was repeated and Bruno found the ball well on the second try.

This goal was the 11th of 12 opportunities at the white point in all competitions since joining the Red Devils. That advantage also made MU in the rest of the first half start to play comfortably and get out of pressure.

Bruno almost doubled the lead in the 38th minute, his hard shot outside the penalty area was pushed over by Keylor Navas. The ball, which then resulted in a corner kick, was headed and hit Diallo's leg, unfortunately the ball narrowed to the side of the PSG goal.

On the other hand, PSG struggled to re-dismantle the opponent's defense. Neymar and his friends often rely on fast counter attacks, but their movements are easily closed by MU players. Score 1-0 for MU's advantage lasted until halftime.

PSG could only equalize in the 54th minute, Martial became the protagonist of PSG. He misses Neymar's corner, the ball which he heads into the net himself and makes De Gea ponder.

Rashford has a golden opportunity in the 58th minute. After escaping from the visitors' escort, his acceleration in the penalty box can be intercepted by Diallo.

Moise Kean had an open opportunity in the 74th minute. Receiving a mature cross on the right, he was rushing a header and the ball flew high. Even though if the ball is held first, the chances of scoring a goal are even greater.

These two 🥰 # MUFC #UCL pic.twitter.com/obLJtRlb5d

- Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 20, 2020

Navas made a brilliant save in the 78th minute. Getting a wild ball, his shot in the middle outside the penalty box can be blocked by Navas. Not long ago it was De Gea's turn to thwart Neymar's hard kick outside the penalty box.

Instead of scoring goals, PSG instead had to concede three minutes before normal time ended. Marcus Rashford's horizontal kick to the left of the goal, Keylor Navas could not save. Until the 2-1 score dispersed for MU's victory remained.

Another night to remember in Paris! ✨ # MUFC #UCL

- Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 20, 2020

The composition of players:

PSG (4-3-3): Keylor Navas; Alessandro Florenzi (Colin Dagba), Abdou Diallo, Presnel Kimpembe, Layvin Kurzawa (Mitchel Bakker); Idrissa Gueye (Moise Kean), Danilo Pereira, Ander Herrera; Angel Di Maria (Pablo Sarabia), Kylian Mbappe, Neymar

Coach: Thomas Tuchel

Manchester United (3-5-2): David de Gea; Axel Tuanzebe, Victor Lindelof, Luke Shaw; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Alex Telles (Paul Pogba), Fred, Scott McTominay; Bruno Fernandes (Donny van de Beek); Anthony Martial (Daniel James), Marcus Rashford.

Coach: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer