How can Manchester United beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League?

Manchester United must produce a miraculous performance at Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday evening to avoid elimination from the Champions League - but what went wrong in the first leg?

United trail the French champions by two away goals and an injury crisis has sidelined Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian.

In addition, talisman Paul Pogba is suspended after being shown a red card late in the first leg at Old Trafford - while the hosts have been boosted by Edinson Cavani's return to training.

As a result, United have drafted a raft of youngsters into their travelling squad and will need to produce an extraordinary performance if they are to progress into the quarter-finals.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has vowed his side will not "go out without a fight" and "need to get the first goal and then stay in the game".

But what lessons can United learn form their 2-0 defeat last month to achieve that game plan?

Formations & activity

United set up in a 4-3-3 against PSG's 4-2-3-1 last month and held Thomas Tuchel's side at the break, but were forced into make two changes during the interval - with Juan Mata and Alexis Sanchez replacing injured duo Martial and Jesse Lingard.

United's activity was somewhat lop-sided, primarily attacking down the left flank through Luke Shaw (No 23) and Martial (No 11) - with Victor Lindelof (No 2) and Matic (No 31) frequently feeding the England left-back.

In contrast, PSG's distribution was considerably balanced with a concentration of passes being exchanged among the two central defenders and holding midfielders.

United's average positions suggested attacking intent, with only Lindeof and Eric Bailly (No 3) sitting clearly in the defensive half to contend with the blistering pace of Kylian Mbappe (No 7).

Meanwhile, Thilo Kehrer (No 4), Thiago Silva (No 2) and Presnel Kimpembbe (No 3) all averaged in their own half for PSG, with full-back Juan Bernat (No 14) given licence to rampage down the left channel.

The half-time substitutions resulted in Mata averaging as United's most advanced player ahead of Rashford in the right-of-centre area, while Sanchez typically operated between Shaw and Pogba down the left.

Match stats

Attack

In terms of the stats, United actually carved an equal number of chances in front of goal and recorded a superior number of crosses and dribbles - in addition to taking far more touches in the opposition box.

But, despite that activity in PSG's area, Solskjaer's men made fewer attempts on goal than Tuchel's side and only achieved one shot on target in the entire game.

General play

PSG's primary dominance appears to have been achieved in midfield, where the French champions made more passes and had a greater proportion of possession.

Solskjaer could pin his hopes on aerial prowess from crosses in Paris, after his side commanded complete aerial dominance last time out - although aerial masters Matic and Pogba will both be unavailable.

Defence

PSG reclaimed more possession in the attacking third, suggesting United will need to apply the press more vigorously from the front.

The French champions frequently intercepted United's attacks and made clearances, so United will need to be patient in and around their opponent's box and avoid allowing the central defenders to snuff out build-up play.

Weaknesses

David de Gea was forced into making three saves, while United's aggressive approach to the game resulted in them committing far more fouls and receiving more yellow cards - in addition to Pogba's late dismissal for a second bookable offence.

Conclusion

United could look to start in a 4-2-3-1 to counter PSG's expected approach and try to dominate possession and apply a more vigorous press, while also enabling extra protection against the speed of Mbappe.

United could then look to assert their aerial dominance by firing crosses at Lukaku - with the in-form Belgian also likely to boost United's poor shooting accuracy from last time out.

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