Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is confident Manchester United’s 2-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain will not define theirseason.
Second-half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe mean that the French champions have a healthy advantage going into the second leg at the Parc des Princes in three weeks’ time. United were dealt further blows with Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial having to be withdrawn, as well as Paul Pogba being sent off before the final whistle due to picking up a second yellow card
Solskjaer admitted PSG’s 2-0 victory provided a ‘reality check’ for United, who had not lost since Jose Mourinho’s last match in charge at Liverpool on December 16.
‘Today we weren’t at their level. This is a level up from what we’ve played against, the games we’ve had. We had a great run.
‘We came into the game in a great frame of mind and great form but of course it was a big step up.
‘They have quality from the ‘keeper to the striker. There is a reason why they are favourites for the Champions League. That’s the level we need to aim for. ‘
“It looked like the game we thought it was going to be. In the first half, there wasn’t really much in it, and then they got the first goal. When they got that one, it was a poor goal to give away. Then they got the momentum. They started to control the game. They had the experience to play it out.
”You can see that we’ve not played games at this level for a while and we’ll have to learn from this experience, because it was one of those experiences that can go either way. It’s not going to be a season defining one for us. It has to be one that we’re going to learn from.“
It wasn’t all plaudits from Ole as he admitted he did not have the answer to Alexis Sanchez’s struggles at Manchester United after the winger failed to make an impact against Paris Saint-Germain.
‘I can’t do anything about Alexis Sanchez,’ Solskjaer said.
‘When he plays he needs to find himself because we know there’s a quality player there.’
Sanchez cannot attack with the pace that Ole wants and I am expecting United to take a big loss on the deal and let Sanchez go this summer.
