Bizarre but lovely to see anyone ask how the opposition will deal with one of OUR players in a knockout Champions League tie.
Speaks volumes, doesn't it? I was wondering how poor we've been in Europe since SAF retired, and the memories are not pleasant.
2013-14: CL QF
Confident group stages, where Nani was outstanding when we scored 5 against Leverkusen. Terrible 1st leg against Olympiakos, probably the worst United performance in Europe that I've seen. RvP hattrick in the 2nd somehow turned it around. Eked out a defensive draw at home to Bayern (Welbeck's miss, anyone?) . Heartbreaking collapse away after Evra's screamer - that is when SAF's retirement hit home for me.
2014-15: No CL/EL
No European football. It was painful to watch from the side lines when all I could do was cheer on Pogba and Evra who lost in the final against Barca.
2015-16: CL group stage exit, EL R16
Finished 3rd in group stage after failing to beat PSV even once. Lost to Wolfsburg with an injury hit defence (LVG's bizarre decision to bring on Nick Powell as a last ditch gamble stands out). Beat Midtjylland with a Memphis special and Rashford's arrival, but got thrashed by Liverpool after that. Terrible football throughout it all.
2016-17: EL winners
One of Mourinho's better moments here, completing the European set. The football was defensive but mostly solid. Underperformed finishing second in group stages, did the job against inferior opponents most of the way. Lucky to survive against Celta Vigo in a scrappy second leg where we were a last second John Guidetti sitter away from crashing out at OT. A true tactical masterclass from Jose in the final saw us outfox an inexperienced Ajax side.
2017-18: CL R16 exit.
Seemed to be going fine when we cruised through an easy group stage (with a particularly impressive away victory against CSKA Moscow in which Lukaku got a brace). Then we went to Sevilla and failed to score in a 0-0, and then surrendered 1-2 in an abject manner at home. The worst European performance after Olympiakos, and this was probably when most fans turned against Mourinho. That 'football heritage' presser was infuriating.
The only 'illustrious' opponents we've faced in Europe since SAF have been Bayern under Moyes, Liverpool under LVG, and Ajax under Mourinho - and all those games have been about stifling the opposition rather than taking the game to them.
Ole has a chance to change the narrative at the fourth time of asking, and I hope to God he takes it. When we travel for the away leg, I'd like to the headlines to be about how PSG can turn it around, and if they can contain Pogba, Rashford and Martial.