Manchester United marked a miserable return to the Champions League on Tuesday after falling to PSV Eindhoven 2-1 despite seeing Memphis Depay grab the opener against his former club.
Hector Moreno and Luciano Narsingh scored either side of the half-time whistle to give PSV the decisive scores, although their English guests accounted for the much greater share of chances in front of goal.
The Red Devils were struck by early tragedy, however, as England left-back Luke Shaw broke his right leg in an awkward challenge, casting a cloud of grey over what was a memorable evening for the club—but for all the wrong reasons.
Anthony Martial made his first start in Manchester United colours, but struggled to affect the tie as the absence of injured captain Wayne Rooney was noticeable.
United Rant used FourFourTwo Stats Zone to illustrate how dominant United were as they were perhaps very unfortunate to mark their European return with defeat:
It was only 15 minutes into the fixture when Shaw came under a heavy challenge from goalscorer Moreno, whose trailing leg caught the Englishman's support at just the wrong angle.
Sunday Telegraph writer Offside Liam outlined what a shame it was to see the youngster suffer such a horrific injury, especially after showing such fine form this season following a difficult settling-in period at Old Trafford:
Despite a slight lull following that disruption to the match, however, United's governance over the game's momentum only continued, and it was four minutes prior to the half-time whistle Depay gave his side the lead.
The former PSV forward was instrumental to beating Club Brugge in the Champions League playoffs and showed nimble footwork to pounce on Tuesday. Spanish writer Sergi Dominguez attested to his strong form in Europe:
Daley Blind provided the assist for that opening effort, but triumph quickly turned sour for the Dutchman as Moreno rose to meet a Maxime Lestienne corner and bag the equaliser just five minutes later.
Blind could only deflect a bullet header into his own net. Men In Blazers outlined United's need to get back into the lead because of Moreno's involvement in Shaw's injury followed by the goal:
United manager Louis van Gaal will have hoped some stern words at half-time would be enough to raise his team, but an early second-half strike from Narsingh saw the travelling side set further back.
Left-sided Lestienne was again the provider as Narsingh thundered his header past David De Gea at the far-right post, leaving WhoScored.com to detail just how cutthroat PSV had proved to be in attack:
The script carried on in the same fashion as United were left frustrated in front of Jeroen Zoet's goal, with Juan Mata and Depay among those coming closest to equalising.
But that saving strike wouldn't come, and the home audience were in jubilant voice as PSV endured anything the English titans had to throw in their direction.
It's been a familiar story at times this season, where Van Gaal's side have created much in terms of opportunity but have been found wanting in end result.
Offside Liam asserted the visitors didn't deserve to lose the fixture, but PSV will care little for who deserved to win so long as three precious points were theirs at the end:
The defeat serves as a not-so-subtle reminder to United that good performances don't always result in point rewards, with Van Gaal's side now at a disadvantage in a testing Group B lineup.
Wolfsburg defeated CSKA Moscow 1-0 in the pool's other fixture on Tuesday evening, with Van Gaal's return to his native Holland far from being as successful as he might have hoped.
Meanwhile, PSV will undoubtedly savour a historic win as they move to become joint-leaders in Group B and make an ideal start to their Champions League campaign.
If it weren't already, United's home fixture against Wolfsburg on Sept. 30 just entered must-win territory, lest they surrender any chances of progressing to the knockout round.
Post-Match Reaction
It was a famous night of football for Phillip Cocu's PSV, but Manchester United were left to rue their trip to the Netherlands as a depressing journey, not least of which due to the horror injury suffered by Shaw.
Speaking to BBC Sport after the loss, Van Gaal described his defender's injury as "very sad" and admitted his team were lacking a proficient touch in front of goal:
I didn’t see it [the Luke Shaw injury] but a few of the players witnessed it, it was very sad and we are trying to find out how he is. We missed that cutting edge in the final third. In the first half they scored from their only chance and they punished us on the break. It’s a very disappointing night. We’ve got a lot to learn.
As if the heartache of the injury itself wasn't agonising enough, the manager went on to detail Shaw's misery, making sure to acknowledge what a good season the England international was enjoying:
It is awful. The boy is in his second season and he has been playing fantastic. And now this happens. He had the oxygen mask on and was crying in the dressing room. You must judge for yourself. If I say it was a penalty and a red card then I am a bad loser.
As if the Dutchman wasn't clear enough on his opinion regarding whether PSV's Moreno was in the wrong when challenging Shaw, he added: "It was a very bad tackle."
via http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2567236-psv-eindhoven-vs-manchester-united-score-reaction-from-2015-champions-league
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