The 2-0 defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night has got some blood boiling hot between two Manchester United legends, with former Red Devils goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel blasting his former team-mate Gary Neville over the latter’s comments and suggested that his old club can make a dramatic comeback.
Schmeichel hit out at Neville for suggesting their old club would not be able to overturn their deficit against Paris Saint-Germain. United lost to second half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe at Old Trafford in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie with both assisted by ex-Red Devils winger Angel Di Maria. The home side also saw Paul Pogba get sent off late on to make matters worse.
After the match, Neville praised PSG for their performance and claimed that the tie looked to be out of his former club’s reach. “They were outclassed, Paris Saint-Germain were the better team and the tie now looks beyond Manchester United,” Neville said to beIN Sports. The former Valencia boss also suggested that the injuries to Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard – who both were substituted at half time – affected the side’s performance, but also pointed to PSG’s injury problems. “I thought Manchester United were affected by the substitutions at half-time, I thought Martial and Lingard going off was a problem but Manchester United have no excuses. No Neymar, no Cavani tonight for Paris Saint-Germain, so they can’t complain,” Neville said.
However, Schmeichel disagreed with Neville’s stance and asserted his belief that United remain capable of an unlikely turnaround. “I don’t know why [Neville] said that,” Schmeichel said, also speaking to beIN Sports. “There’s a three-week period now, anything can happen before the second leg and make no mistake, Manchester United will have learned a lot from today. An awful lot. In three weeks you can improve a lot. You can train a lot. You can come up with a proper plan.”
It was the first time the club have lost by two goals in a European fixture on their own patch and the first time a French club have beaten the Red Devils away from home. Additionally, no side has ever overturned a two-goal home deficit in the Champions League. The Red Devils have a tricky-looking fixture run before they travel to the Parc des Princes in Paris, however, with an FA Cup trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea and a visit from Premier League title-chasing rivals Liverpool to come first, as well as league fixtures against Crystal Palace and Southampton.
Whose