Manchester United made the perfect start to their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win away at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday.
Marcus Rashford netted three minutes from time, 18 months after scoring the decisive goal in a 3-1 win at PSG that sent United into the quarterfinals after a 2-0 first-leg home defeat.
United went ahead with a twice-taken Bruno Fernandes penalty in the first-half before Anthony Martial‘s own goal after the break gifted PSG the equaliser, only for Rashford to wrap up the win with a precise low shot.
PSG, who were beaten finalists of last season’s competition, started brightly with United goalkeeper David De Gea making saves from Angel Di Maria, from just outside the penalty area, and Layvin Kurzawa, from close range.
United were awarded a penalty on 20 minutes when Abdou Diallo fouled Martial but Fernandes — named captain in the absence of Harry Maguire — saw his spot-kick saved by Keylor Navas.
However, the PSG goalkeeper had both feet off the goalline when he made the save meaning Fernandes was able to re-take the penalty, which he converted at the second attempt.
PSG’s fortunes were summed up in first-half stoppage time when an Kylian Mbappe shot from the edge of the box was deflected over the bar by
The Ligue 1 champions reacted by introducing on-loan forward Moise Kean in place of midfielder Idrissa Gueye.
From a Neymar corner, Martial headed into his own net on 55 minutes to bring the hosts level and stun United.
Resolute defending from the Premier League side, notably from Aaron Wan-Bissaka in marshalling Mbappe, saw them withstand a period of pressure from PSG.
Paul Pogba came on for debutant Alex Telles after 67 minutes as United changed formation and the France international helped assist Rashford’s winner, laying off the ball late on to give the English side a valuable win.
It was PSG’s first Champions League group stage defeat at the Parc des Princes in 16 years, the first in 25 games.