Still buzzing...
Excellent play across the board. The boys showed up. Ole had them set up well, made great substitutions and formation changes.
Match fitness is definitely there. We were not dragging with ten minutes to go. When Ole did make his subs, Telles, Bruno, and Tony did not look wasted coming off the field. Fred ran his tail off for 90 minutes and I think he could have gone extra time. This is NOT the same squad Ole inherited - it's taken two years, and the board still isn't making enough proper moves, but this is definitely Ole's squad now.
A lot of folks find the 3-5-2 "too defensive" but Ole only lets it get that way when he needs it. With the speed he's added to the team, this formation becomes very attacking very fast and that's the direction he's been headed.
Telles was an absolute revelation, especially his left foot. With the 3-5-2 formation, this allows Shaw to stay in a little on the attack. Shaw has trouble up against the sideline and in the corner. With Telles covering that, Luke could stay inside without worry and be more effective. Telles put in a shift, and as I said above, didn't look gassed when he was pulled at 68'. And his corners...
I suspect Ole will have words with Rashford and Martial. They need to take the shot rather than the pass. Bruno was guilty of that at least once, as well. Greenwood has no such qualms. That said, both played exceptionally well, I thought. Martial is taking a lot of stick, but his off-the-ball work and defensive press were particularly effective. Scoring goals is hard, and doing the right thing doesn't always pay off, but it will pay off eventually. The OG header was a fluke. Rashford redeemed himself with the winner, but he made some great runs and good passes outside of that. Shouldn't had two or three goals on the night, though.
The defense was incredible. PSG seldom got into the box. We just didn't allow it. Lindelof was as aggressive as I've ever seen him. Tuanzebe went freaking Gandalf on PSG's attackers on the right, that is, whenever AWB's Aragorn didn't slide-tackle them away first. Telles and Shaw worked well together on the left side. But Fred's contributions were probably the best of the night and McTominay really got disciplined after the card. PSG's front line are going to make anyone look foolish - they are fast. Period. Ole set the right men in the right spots to absorb it and turn it away.
Squad depth is so much better now. We were controlling the game with Pogba, Van de Beek, Henderson, Mata, Matic, Williams, and Fosu-Mensa on the bench. Maguire and Greenwood weren't even in Paris.
As I write this, the MOTM results are as follows: Fred 28%, Tuanzebe 25%, DeGea 17%, Wan-Bissaka 14%. I actually find that pretty impressive on such a big win.