Solskjaer's Fred blunder could be turning point in Manchester United's Champions League campaign

Fred’s match should have ended after 45 minutes. Well, technically it should have ended earlier than that, with the Brazilian fortunate to stay on the pitch after a headbutt on Leandro Paredes, but having got away with a yellow, and with a couple borderline challenges which could have seen him booked for a second time, most assumed he wouldn’t emerge for the start of the second half.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, however, chose to keep Fred on the pitch until that decision was taken out of his hands, with the 27-year-old finally shown another yellow card for a tackle. This particular call was debatable. Fred appeared to win the ball, but the red card had been earned earlier in the match. It was a suitable consequence of Solskjaer’s foolishness.

That the Norwegian had five substitutions to use, as are the Covid-19 era rules in this season’s Champions League, made his refusal to withdraw Fred from the firing line was all the more baffling. United had two good options on the bench in Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek. Either could have replaced Fred without much of a tactical shuffle.

The midfield pair of Fred and Scott McTominay worked well for Solskjaer at the Parc des Princes, where Manchester United kicked off their 2020/21 Champions League campaign with a victory. While Bruno Fernandes, Pogba and Van de Beek are clearly United’s best midfielders in terms of their individual quality, Solskjaer has recognised the difficulty in fitting all three into the same team.

Pogba can, however, play as a deep-lying midfielder. That might not be where the Frenchman is most effective, but it’s a position he has been deployed in before. Why didn’t Solskjaer turn to Pogba when it became apparent to everyone, apparently besides him, that Fred couldn’t continue?

Van de Beek could also have been introduced for the Brazilian with a change to a midfield diamond. This was a system that worked for Manchester United in the home win over RB Leipzig. Fred was deployed on the right side of the diamond against the Bundesliga side that night, but McTominay could have played this role in place of the Brazilian.

Solskjaer might argue Fred was a key part of a shape and system that had United pressing hard for a second goal before the Brazilian’s sending off. Indeed, the hosts could have been out of sight by the time the decisive moment in the match occurred, with Anthony Martial missing a ballooning a sitter over the target and Edinson Cavani striking the crossbar.

The United boss must be better at reacting to events unfolding in front of him, though. Against an opposition side as nippy and street wise as PSG, Fred’s poor first touch was always likely to be a problem. The Brazilian has proven some doubters wrong since he was written off as a flop within months of his arrival at Old Trafford, but his control of the ball frequently lets him down. This was certainly the case against a PSG team who were on top of him every time he received a pass.

Despite everything, Solskjaer can take positives from the way United had last season’s Champions League finalists on the ropes for much of the second half. There wasn’t much difference between their display on Wednesday night and the one produced at the Parc des Princes in October, only that United took their chances on that occasion.

Manchester United still sit atop Group H and they will finish there with a victory over RB Leipzig, a team they thrashed 5-0 only a month ago, next week. But if Solskjaer’s side fall into the Europa League rather than the Champions League last 16, he will surely reflect on a poor decision made at half time of this match as the turning point.