Blog 25: PSG and Man Utd return to European football with a frustrating start in the Champions League

UEFA Champions League 2021/22 is officially underway. A total of 16 matches were played on Matchday 1 which saw all 32 selected teams return to European football over the past two days. Among these fixtures, some results took the world by shock. Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, two of the best players in the world, returned to the big stage after joining Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain respectively this summer. All eyes were set as Manchester United played against the Young Boys, which saw the hosts win the match after coming from behind and scoring two goals to take home all three points. Meanwhile, the trio of Messi, Neymar and Mbappe were not so "deadly" after all. PSG's attacking trio started together for the very first time against Club Brugge but failed to impress as they had to settle for a point in Belgium. What really went wrong for both teams?

Manchester United:

The Red Devils faced their first defeat of the season against Swiss club Young Boys. Cristiano Ronaldo made his first appearance of his second debut for the club against Newcastle in the Premier League and scored 2 crucial goals to help the team. United signed several top-class players during the transfer window, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane. But were these the only positions that needed to be settled? NO, Manchester United have looked shaky in the midfield department. Though they have Bruno Fernandez and Pogba, they lack a defensive midfielder which could be seen as a problem. It's fair to say that the Young Boys were the clear winners in every aspect of the game and didn't lose hope after Ronaldo's opener. The Swiss club had 5 shots on target, 85% pass accuracy and 54% possession throughout the game, this was more than what United had produced during the match. Jesse Lingard's substitution could be seen as one of the turning points in the game after he made a passing mistake which was converted by Siebatcheu in stoppage time.

Paris Saint-Germain:

PSG have a great team on paper and there's no doubt about that after the kind of signings they made this summer, but there is a difference between a great team and great players in a team. Mauricio Pochettino has one of the best squads in the world right now and it's fair to say that he can finally win a Champions League trophy. The Parisians have had zero losses in the past six games, but not to ignore that they haven't been so threatening this season even after the addition of players like Wijnaldum in midfield. Club Brugge gave one of their best performances with excellent defending, passing and counterattacks. At one point it looked like they could have won the game but Keylor Navas was there to stop the ball from crossing the goal line. Although PSG had more possession and passing accuracy, they were not able to get through the defence easily. It was evident that PSG's midfield was static and was missing Veratti badly.

What next?

Both teams have enough time to get back strong and qualify for the round of 16 but for one team it's not a cakewalk. PSG have last year's Champions League finalists, Manchester City, in their group and will face them next. Manchester City won an exciting game against RB Leipzig with a final score of 6-3 where Jack Grealish scored his first-ever UCL goal. There is no doubt that the new players have to get that chemistry right with all the players and I am sure they will bounce back. Manchester United will have to resolve their defensive midfield issues in order to have a smooth play. They will face Villarreal in their next Champions League fixture where Aaron Wan-Bissaka will not be included after getting a red card against the Young Boys.