Rashford strikes late again as Man Utd beat PSG in Champions League opener

PARIS - Marcus Rashford produced another late strike to sink Paris Saint-Germain as Manchester United beat last season's runners-up 2-1 at the Parc des Princes in their Champions League group-stage opener on Tuesday.

The England striker, whose last-gasp penalty gave United a stunning victory over PSG here in the last 16 in 2019, smashed home in the 87th minute as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side claimed a well-deserved three points in Group H.

"They were both opportunities to win the game. As a striker when it's late on, that's your mindset, you might only get one chance and you have to do your best to make it happen," Rashford told BT Sport after repeating his heroics of two seasons ago.

United had taken a first-half lead behind closed doors in Paris courtesy of a retaken Bruno Fernandes penalty after their captain for the match had initially missed.

But it looked as though PSG would escape with a draw despite a poor performance when Anthony Martial headed a Neymar corner into his own net 10 minutes after the restart in this Group H encounter.

It is another fine result for Solskjaer, who was handed the United manager's job on a permanent basis on the back of that victory here in March 2019 and has now seen his side bounce back in style from an embarrassing 6-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur just before the recent international break.

"It's a different feeling, it's the start of the group stages, but we still win against a fantastic team," Solskjaer said.

"The last time it was a knockout tie and the euphoria was different. Now there is no fans, it's sterile, there is no one here to celebrate with, but the players were excellent."

Solskjaer had again left Paul Pogba on the bench at kick-off, just like in Saturday's 4-1 Premier League win at Newcastle United, and the Norwegian's decision to start with three centre-backs also paid off.

Axel Tuanzebe came into the defence for his first start in 10 months with Harry Maguire missing, while there was a debut as a left wing-back for Alex Telles following the Brazilian's arrival from Porto.

AFP