Ed Woodward on transfers, Covid-19 impact and Manchester United's role in Project Big Picture

United's executive vice-chairman tells fans forum club are lobbying for supporters to be allowed to return to watch games at Old Trafford

• 

  MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David De Gea - 6. Opposite Keylor Navas, the man he nearly swapped places with in 2015. Conceded three goals, none of them beauties, and none of them the Spaniard’s fault as he scrambled around. Made saves to keep his side in the game. AFP

• 

  Aaron Wan Bissaka - 6. Plenty to do against Kylian Mbappe. Superb positioning when chasing a Neymar and Mbappe counter attack. Reuters

• 

  Victor Lindelof - 6. Under pressure against two of the best attackers in the world but steadied like his team who were the better side in the second half until conceding a second. Reuters

• 

  Harry Maguire - 7. Work cut out – which he would have expected. Tested against one of the best teams in the world. Lovely header to set up Pogba as he turned into an attacker at the end. Slipped on line when Neymar passed in third. Fronted up to speak to the media afterwards, which he hadn’t done after the 1-6 loss to Spurs. EPA

• 

  Alex Telles - 6. United’s best defender the previous two games. Less effective and slow for Neymar’s early goal and was turned as his compatriot began the superb move which led to his PSG's third. AFP

• 

  Fred - 4. Silly boy. Fortunate to stay on the pitch after head contact with Paredes, who was later booked for another challenge with Fred where the Brazilian caught him. His manager kept him on but the risk was too high as the Fred was sent off after a second yellow when he had won the ball. PA

• 

  Scott McTominay 7. Became better acquainted with Neymar and took the ball off Mbappe enough times to justify his start. Reuters

• 

  Anthony Martial 5. Top class players need to take chances in the biggest games. The Parisian didn’t do that. Games are decided by fine margins but he’s out of form. Put Cavani through for his chip. EPA

• 

  Bruno Fernandes 7. Should’ve shot when put through by Martial. Less effective against world class players than he’s been in most Premier League games, but more key passes than any of his teammates. Reuters

• 

  Marcus Rashford 7 His shot was deflected past Navas after United’s first positive spell. Superb play to set up Martial after half time and some fine interplay with Cavani. Off injured with a shoulder injury. EPA

• 

  Edinson Cavani 7. PSG’s all time leading scorer and selected after superb influence at Southampton. Hit crossbar with a chip which would have been a glorious goal. Getty Images

• 

  SUBS: Paul Pogba 7. On for Rashford, the man he’d set up for the winner in Paris, after 74' when United were down to 10. Volleyed over after Maguire set him up on 79. EPA

• 

  Donny Van de Beek 6. On for Cavani 78'. Unlucky not to start. Getty Images

• 

  Mason Greenwood 6. On for Martial 78'. Reuters

• 

  Odion Ighalo N/A. On for Wan Bissaka on 90' for his Champions League debut as United chased a point. Getty Images

• 

  PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN RATINGS: Keylor Navas, 6 – The visiting keeper couldn’t quite scramble back across his goal to keep out Rashford’s painfully-deflected effort and was beaten all ends up by Cavani’s exquisite chipped attempt, but he clung on to a late Bruno Fernandes header. EPA

• 

  Alessandro Florenzi, 7 – Drew the best from De Gea when he pounced on a loose ball from Fred and tested the Spaniard’s reflexes with a sweetly struck effort from outside the box, before his whipped delivery almost found Neymar’s slide at the back post. PA

• 

  Marquinhos, 8 – A captain’s performance if ever there was one and he repelled Martial’s strike with a mammoth block as the hosts looked to turn the game on its head. Ironically, he then clipped the bar with his own head at the other end, but he was on hand to stab home when United failed to clear a corner. EPA

• 

  Abdou Diallo, 6 - A couple of important blocks in the first-half, but they won’t live long in the memory given that his next involvement saw the ball deflect off his outstretched leg and trickle past Navas into the goal. Reuters

• 

  Presnel Kimpembe, 7 - After a quieter first half than he might have anticipated, he was kept much busier by the lively Rashford after the break and he did brilliantly to get a toe on a dangerous ball which was heading into the forward’s stride. Getty Images

• 

  Marco Verratti, 7 - Like Paredes alongside him, he was involved in most of the tie’s less glamorous moments, but in doing so he was effective in disrupting United’s rhythm - and he was again involved in the exchange that saw Fred finally dismissed. Getty Images

• 

  Danilo Pereira, 6 – The on-loan Porto man is so calm in possession and completely nullified the threat of Fernandes in the first half, although he had less success containing the hosts after the break as United turned things up a notch. Reuters

• 

  Leandro Paredes, 6 - Involved in some early controversy when he hit the deck following an exchange with Fred that probably should have seen the latter receive his marching orders much earlier than he did. Reuters

• 

  Neymar, 8 - A brilliant brace from PSG’s star man who started and finished the contest, rifling into the corner from a tight angle after just six minutes before tapping home in a late second. If you’re harsh, you could argue he neglected his full-back at times. Getty Images

• 

  Moise Kean, 6 – The former Everton man has arguably enjoyed the sweetest spell of his career since leaving the Toffees and, although not at his liveliest, he almost registered another attacking return when he teed up Neymar who went for the spectacular. Reuters

• 

  ylian Mbappe, 8 - The charging Mbappe was rewarded for his tenacity when the ball bounced kindly off Maguire and Neymar lashed home after a nice exchange between the two and, although he fired wide on the counter, he was instrumental in the visitor’s third goal too. Getty Images

• 

  SUBS: Ander Herrera, 7 - An Old Trafford return for the battling midfielder who replaced Parades. He could only smash his best chance over the bar, but he produced a hugely important clearance at the other end from a United corner. PA

• 

  Mitchel Bakker, 7 - It took all of a couple of minutes for the forward to throw himself into the thick of the action. His rolled effort towards the corner was somehow kept out by De Gea at full stretch, but the resulting corner was eventually bundled home. Getty Images

• 

  Thilo Kehrer, NR - Replaced Alessandro Florenzi as Thomas Tuchel looked to preserve his side’s advantage and he did well to get across Donny van de Beek’s path at the expense of a corner. Reuters

• 

  MF Rafinha, NR - Brought on for the tenacious Marco Verratti - likely to save his teammate for another day after the Italian picked up a booking - and he burst forward to pick up Mbappe’s pass and pull the ball back for Neymar to slot in the winner. Getty Images

• 

  MF Idrissa Gueye, NR - Just when we thought we were about to see another former United man In Angel Di Maria, Tuchel changed his mind and threw on Gueye instead, though he didn’t have time to impact the game. Reuters

Manchester United’s leading executive, Ed Woodward, has explained the club’s situation to a recent fans’ forum held at Old Trafford.

United endured a poor start to the season before an upturn in recent form.

“What happens on the field is clearly our top priority, and while it’s not the same without fans in the stadium, we’ve seen lots of highs since our last meeting in April [the previous forum meeting], with that 14-game unbeaten run to finish third in last season’s Premier League and great wins against PSG and RB Leipzig on our return to the Champions League this season,” said Woodward.

“Of course we recognise and accept there’s more hard work ahead to achieve the consistency needed to win trophies. But we’ve seen enough positive signs on the pitch and the training ground to reinforce our belief in the progress being made by Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], his coaching team and the players.”

United were criticized for their summer transfer inactivity before a flurry of signings on deadline day.

“I told this forum back in April that we remained committed to strengthening the squad, while being disciplined in our spending during the pandemic,” said Woodward. “I believe we’ve delivered on that, with the additions we made during the summer taking our total net spending to over €200m since summer 2019 – more than any other major European club over that period. We will continue to support Ole with a planned, long-term approach to recruitment, focused on the summer windows.”

United, like all clubs, have been hit by the impact of Covid-19, as Woodward explained.

“While our strong commercial business puts us in a more resilient position than many clubs, these remain exceptionally challenging times for everyone in football, and especially for clubs in the lower divisions. We have been pushing the rest of the Premier League to provide emergency assistance to the EFL [English Football League] on a no-strings-attached basis and we will also remain at the forefront of discussions about reforms to improve the long-term financial sustainability of the entire English football pyramid.

“A strong Premier League and a financially sustainable and robust pyramid are both crucial to the health of the national game and that’s the principle we will continue to pursue within the strategic review recently launched by the Premier League.”

He was keen to talk about United's role in the heavily criticised Project Big Picture. "Those objectives were at the heart of our involvement. It's important to reflect that these were work in progress. This is not a behind-closed-doors power grab, only draft proposals and a discussion document. The next step would have been to roll them out to all stakeholders in search of consensus."

United are also involved in talks about the future of European football with several bodies.

“We are also at the centre of discussions about the future of European club competitions and, as with the reporting of Project Big Picture, context is important,” said Woodward. “Most of my time in this regard is focused, through the ECA [European Club Association] and the UCCSA, on the strengthening of existing Uefa club competitions. The dialogue focuses on them continuing to be predominantly midweek games having little or no impact on the Premier League. We believe that any changes to European competition post-2024 must be complementary to thriving domestic leagues. Other domestic leagues feel the same way, reflected in conversation with our counterparts in other clubs and countries.”

View outside Old Trafford, home to Manchester United. Reuters

Woodward wanted to reassure match-going fans who are concerned about any changes.

“What I can assure you of is that we will keep match-going fans firmly in the centre of thoughts, whether with the Premier League, ECA or Uefa, and across our decision-making processes overall, because the past eight months has reminded us all of just how crucial you are to the fabric of the game. This game without fans is nothing.”

Those fans will return to Old Trafford this month if Manchester drops from the UK government's Tier 3 to Tier 2 status. Initially that will be just 2,000 fans in a 75,000-seater stadium.

“As a minimum we are asking that government treats football consistently with other sectors,” said Woodward. “It seems strange that a non-league game with 600 fans is allowed whist crowds at games further up the pyramid are not. There is also clearly inconsistency with aeroplanes and cinemas vs a game outdoors. We believe the risks associated with watching football in the outdoors at Old Trafford will be significantly less than in many other leisure settings and we will continue to work with fan groups to strongly make this case. We trust our fans and know that they will maintain social distancing. It can be frustrating if the game becomes a political football.”