Manchester United just love winning Champions League matches in Paris, don’t they?In March 2019, they produced an incredible comeback to beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 thanks to Marcus Rashford’s injury-time penalty, reaching the quarter-finals of the competition on away goals.And on Tuesday, United and Rashford did it again.Another late Rashford strike saw off last season’s finalists as the Red Devils came away with a 2-1 victory.It was a fantastic night for United made even more remarkable considering they were missing captain Harry Maguire at the back.However, Maguire’s absence allowed 22-year-old Axel Tuanzebe to make his first appearance since the League Cup quarter-final against Colchester on December 19.
How would Tuanzebe cope in a back-three up against the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar?Incredibly well, it turns out.Tuanzebe produced a sensational defensive display with fans claiming he ‘pocketed’ Mbappe all night.They’re not far wrong, either.But how did Tuanzebe do it? How do you go from not playing for 10 months to stopping one of the best forwards in world football?Well, perhaps Edinson Cavani deserves a bit of credit.Cavani arrived at United as a free transfer earlier this month having previously been released by PSG. The striker spent seven seasons at the Parc des Princes, three of which were with both Mbappe and Neymar.And fans have discovered a video his lengthy chat with Tuanzebe in training ahead of the PSG match. While it’s unclear exactly what Cavani is saying, it does seem as though he’s giving him some sort of instructions.Was he giving away inside information about Mbappe and PSG?
At least that’s what United supporters believe, anyway.
Cavani already winning matches for Man Utd and he hasn’t even played yet!
After the game, Tuanzebe’s manager, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, praised his performance.
"Axel did fantastic," Solskjaer said. "He's been out since the last game against Colchester, 10 months or something? To put up a performance like this against Neymar and Mbappe... I have to say he almost surprised us as well.
"We know he's a good player but on a night like this, he was fantastic. We might see this system again, of course, we have had some good games in it."