Fred sees red as Manchester United lose to Paris Saint-German to leave qualification in balance

Fred was sent off as Manchester United failed to confirm their place in the Champions League last 16 following a 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain at Old Trafford.

The visitors made a strong start and stormed in front when Neymar lashed home Kylian Mbappe’s deflected shot on six minutes.

United struggled to get a foothold in the game and were fortunate not to be reduced to 10 men early when Fred only received a yellow card following a VAR check for what appeared to be a headbutt on Leandro Paredes.

The hosts then enjoyed a further slice of luck when Marcus Rashford’s low drive diverted into the opposite corner off Danilo.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men stepped it up after the break but Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani both saw big opportunities go begging.

PSG switched shape and the match turned their way in two decisive moments. First Marquinhos stabbed home from close range to restore their advantage before Fred finally received his marching orders for a second yellow.

Neymar then added a third in injury-time to leave Group H finely poised heading into the final round of matches. United, PSG and RB Leipzig all have nine points with Istanbul Basaksehir already confirmed to finish bottom on three.

United visit West Ham on Saturday before heading to Germany for a crunch clash at Leipzig next Tuesday. PSG will feel confident of progressing when they host Istanbul Basaksehir.

Ole pays Fred price as Group H goes to the wire. In the end, it was the right result. United had good fortune in a first half in which PSG were comfortably the better side. The visitors had the lead and should have had a man advantage much earlier than they did; Fred escaped with a yellow card for what clearly looked like a headbutt. It once again raised questions about refereeing consistency as it mirrored the reaction that saw Arsenal’s Nicolas Pepe sent off against Leeds United last month.

Fred was eventually sent off in the second half and it does beg the question as to why Solskjaer didn’t replace the midfielder at the break after a couple of close calls. United will feel they could have nicked it with their chances following the interval, but PSG were more clinical when it mattered.

United will still qualify if they avoid defeat on Matchday Six but could face a much more uncomfortable night than they were hoping for in Leipzig, especially with the Manchester derby against City just four days later.

Neymar (PSG). At times the Brazilian was peripheral, but when he did come to life he stepped up to the plate. He started and finished the scoring to put his team in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stage.

MAN UTD: De Gea 7, Wan-Bissaka 7, Lindelof 7, Maguire 7, Telles 7, McTominay 7, Fred 4, Rashford 8, Fernandes 7, Martial 7, Cavani 7. Subs: Pogba 6, Van de Beek 5, Greenwood 5, Ighalo n/a.

PSG: Navas 7, Florenzi 8, Marquinhos 8, Diallo 7, Kimpembe 7, Verratti 7, Danilo 7, Paredes 7, Neymar 8, Mbappe 7, Kean 7. Subs: Herrera 7, Bakker 7, Rafinha 6, Kehrer 6, Gueye n/a.

6’ - GOAL! – Man Utd 0-1 PSG. Neymar fires in from a narrow angle after Mbappe's shot deflected into his path.

32’ - GOAL! – Man Utd 1-1 PSG. Rashford drills in a weak shot from the edge of the box that hits Danilo and flies in the opposite corner. All square.

49’ – MAN UTD CHANCE! Cavani links brilliantly with Rashford down the right. It's played across for Martial who somehow contrives to blaze over from close range.

58’ – MAN UTD CHANCE! Cavani races clear on to Martial’s pass but sees his delicious chip come back off the bar. Fernandes keeps it alive and lays it back for Martial whose shot is brilliantly saved.

64’ - PSG CHANCE! Marquinhos sees a header back across goal clip the top of the bar from Florenzi's delightful, dinked cross.

69’ - GOAL! – Man Utd 1-2 PSG. Marquinhos stabs home a scruffy goal from close range after United had only half cleared their lines.

70’ – RED CARD FOR FRED! Fred finally gets his marching orders with a second yellow card after lunging in to make up for his own poor first touch.

90+3’ – GOAL! – Man Utd 1-3 PSG. Neymar finishes United off as another PSG break ends with the Brazilian tucking home a simple cut back.

Neymar's opener is the earliest Champions League goal conceded by Manchester United at Old Trafford since September 2015, when Daniel Caligiuri scored against them for Wolfsburg after three minutes and 53 seconds.

Rashford has scored more goals in five Champions League games this season (6) than he managed in 18 appearances in the competition across his two previous seasons, 2017-18 and 2018-19 (5).

The away side has won all four Champions League matches between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain; excluding games played at neutral venues, it’s the first fixture in the competition’s history to see the first four meetings all won by the away side.

Manchester United have now lost more of their eight home games in all competitions this season (4) than they did in 28 matches at Old Trafford last term (3).