Manchester United have dropped their club’s captain Harry Maguire, their teenage sensation, Mason Greenwood, and their new signing Edinson Cavani ahead of their journey to Paris, France for their first Champions League match of the 2020-2021 season.
The Premier League giants are in Paris to play Paris Saint Germain in UEFA Champions League Group H match on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. United’s captain who gave a very good account of himself in United’s last Premier League match against Newcastle United on October 17 won’t have the opportunity to repeat such a form.
The English defender who is currently battling a court case in Greece did so well for United that he scored the first goal of the match which ended 4-1 in favor of United.
Despite such a performance, the 27-year-old world’s most expensive defender would not be available for United when they step out to play against PSG at Parc des Princes.
As for Mason Greenwood, the 19-year-old forward has continued his unexplained absence from the team. He was not also available for United’s 4-1 victory over Newcastle on Saturday. The youngster is gradually dropping away from reckoning since he breached coronavirus protocol while on international duty with England in Iceland.
While Manchester United’s new signing, Edinson Cavani has never made any appearance for the Red Devils since he joined the club on transfer deadline day. He was released by PSG in August and he has not played any competitive match for over 5 months. The 33-year-old forward has trained once with United after his 14 days of quarantine. He would have to wait a bit longer before he can get his United’s debut.
Also, United’s players like Eric Bailly and Jesse Lingard would not be in Paris on Tuesday. They have been dropped for the Champions League match.
“We are a little bit depleted but we have more than enough players,” United’s manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said.
“We hope the players won’t be away for too long. Edinson needs a few more days’ training. Maybe we can think about the weekend.
“Hopefully Harry, Eric, and Mason as well, but we’re not sure about that.”
#UCL preparations at the Aon Training Complex ✅
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 19, 2020
Check out our latest behind-the-scenes look at another productive training session 💪#MUFC pic.twitter.com/NyNUL7Hbwx
Since United’s captain Harry Maguire would not be available for the match, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed that the club’s winter signing and Portugal international Bruno Fernandes would captain United against PSG on Tuesday for the first time since he started playing for the club in February.
©️ The manager says @B_Fernandes8 will wear the captain's armband tomorrow night, with @HarryMaguire93 missing through injury.#MUFC #UCL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 19, 2020
The last time Manchester United met with PSG in the Champions League was in the 2018-2019 season. England international Marcus Rashford scored a penalty in an additional minute of the match to give United the goal advantage that qualified the Premier League side for the quarter-final stage of the competition that season.
