The context
No-one could boast more than the 17 goals Paris Saint-Germain scored in the group stage this season. But deprived of Neymar Jr and Edinson Cavani, the Parisians had a date with destiny in Manchester and a United side unbeaten in 11 matches under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.


The key moments
The Theatre of Dreams proved itself aptly named for those whose blood runs rouge-et-bleu. Winning at Old Trafford was quite a statement of intent..

There was no doubt from the off that the Champions League was back. Angel Di Maria stretched David de Gea with a low shot (6′) before Marcus Rashford gave Gianluigi Buffon a save to make from a tight angle (9′). Kylian Mbappé (28′) and Di Maria (37′) then also raised pulses in a first half that saw no goals but three shots on target for each side. With Presnel Kimpembe and Thiago Silva unbeatable at the back and Marco Verratti and Marquinhos solid in midfield, Paris had the platform they needed, and after De Gea had pushed an Mbappé effort behind (53′), Kimpembe stole in from the resulting corner to sidefoot home at the back post (0-1, 53′). Dani Alves might have delivered the knockout blow (55′), Mbappé did when he clinically capped a counter-attack (0-2, 60′) as Di Maria picked up a second assist. Mbappé (63′) and Juan Bernat (64′) were both denied by De Gea before United’s evening ended on an even lower note with Paul Pogba’s red card (89′) as Paris inflicted a first-ever European home defeat by a two-goal margin on United to delight the 3,600 travelling contingent.

A Parisian in the match
As David Beckham and Eric Cantona can tell Kylian Mbappé: at Old Trafford, the number 7 can be the focus of attention. That was again the case for 90 minutes, but – this time – it was in the ranks of the visitors…the France international shouldered the burden of responsibility in attack, and scored the potentially crucial second goal with his tenth away strike (from a total of 14) in the competition.

The word: First
The two sides had never met in official competition. It was also a first in that a French club had beaten the Red Devils at home (4 draws, 10 defeats). And it was Presnel Kimpembe’s maiden first-team goal…it was truly an evening of firsts.

Up next
Three weeks, 22 days or – if you must know – 528 hours now to wait until the second leg at the Parc des Princes on 6 March. Before then, there is a trip to Saint-Etienne on Sunday (kick-off 21:00CET) and the quest for a 20th league win of the season.