United, PSG open UCL knockout phase

Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain will open the UEFA Champions League’s knockout phase with the first leg of their last 16, set for Old Trafford on Tuesday, 12 February 2019, kick-off at 22h00 CAT.

United earned their place in the last 16 of the competition by coming home in second place in Group H, which also featured Juventus, Valencia and Young Boys. The highlight for the English team was a somewhat fortuitous 2-1 win in Turin against the Italian giants in November.

Since coming home in second in their pool, the Red Devils have enjoyed a major upswing in form. They got rid of Jose Mourinho and replaced him with former player Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in a caretaker capacity in December – the Norwegian (at the time of writing) had overseen a run of 10 unbeaten games across all competitions, including nine wins.

Paris, meanwhile, impressively topped Group C ahead of Liverpool and Napoli. The Ligue 1 giants bounced back strongly from an opening loss to the Reds at Anfield in September and sealed first place with a 4-1 triumph at Red Star Belgrade in Serbia.

However, things have not gone all that smoothly for the French champions since then. Thomas Tuchel’s side suffered their first league defeat of the season last weekend, going down 2-1 away to Olympique Lyon, while talismanic Brazilian attacker Neymar will miss both legs of the tie against United with another serious injury to his right foot.

This will be the first competitive meeting of Man United and PSG, though both have been regular combatants against teams from the other’s league down the years. The Red Devils have a strong record against French teams, with 14 wins and just two defeats from 26 matches, while the Parisians have won just five times from 19 matches against English opposition.

The return leg match will be held at the Parc des Princes on March 6.

Manchester United v Paris Saint-Germain – Head-to-head

N/A – This will be the first competitive meeting of Man United and PSG.

Last five results (Champions League only, most recent first)

United | L | W | W | L | D
PSG | W | W | D | D | W