Luke Shaw suffered a double fracture in his leg as Manchester United's return to the Uefa Champions League ended in a disappointing 2-1 defeat to PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.
Luciano Narsingh and Hector Moreno found the net as the Dutch champions recorded a narrow triumph over United on their first Champions League match in 17 months.
But Moreno might have been lucky to still be on the pitch to head PSV level after Memphis Depay’s opener.
With 15 minutes gone, the Mexican slid in with a two-footed challenge on Shaw in the box. The England defender was carried off on a stretcher while receiving oxygen eight minutes later.
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Disturbing replays showed Shaw’s right foot bent at a 45-degree angle. After the match, the club tweeted: “Our thoughts go out to @LukeShaw23, who has suffered a double fracture of the leg. He will have an operation on his return to Manchester.”
Referee Nicola Rizzoli did not award a penalty and Moreno later wiped out Depay’s solo opener with a header.
Just before the hour, Narsingh took advantage of some slack marking from Shaw’s replacement Marcos Rojo to finish off a counter and give the hosts a win that gives them an early advantage in Group B.
Though Anthony Martial impressed on his full debut, manager Louis van Gaal will be disappointed that United’s return to Europe’s biggest club competition ended in a loss.
Shaw’s teammate Adnan Januzaj, who is on loan at Borussia Dortmund, wrote on Twitter: “Horrible to see what happened ... I wish u all the best my brother and stay strong you will comeback even stronger ... @LukeShaw23”
Shaw himself took to Twitter, as many well-wishers sent him notes of support.
He tweeted: “Thank you everyone for your messages , words can’t describe how gutted I am , my road to recovery starts now, I will come back stronger.”
His former club Southampton told Shaw to “come back stronger”, to which he replied: “thank you , you don’t know how much you as a club mean to me , thank you so much I really appreciate it”
PSG v Malmo
Angel di Maria curled in the first goal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic set up Edinson Cavani with a touch of brilliance for the other as Paris Saint-Germain opened their Uefa Champions League campaign with a 2-0 win against Malmo in Group A. Di Maria, starting just his second game since joining from Manchester United, cut inside from the right in the fourth minute to score. Cavani nodded the second goal past goalkeeper Johan Wiland in the second half.
Real Madrid v Shakhtar
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his impressive run by scoring a hat trick in Real Madrid’s 4-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk in Group A . After a five-goal performance in the Spanish league, Ronaldo converted penalty kicks in the 55th and 63rd minutes, then scored with a header in the 81st. Karim Benzema opened the scoring after a goalkeeping blunder in the 30th following a difficult start for Madrid. Shakhtar had Taras Stepanenko sent off in the 51st minute.
Galatasaray v Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid made a confident start to their campaign, easing past Group C rivals Galatasaray 2-0 in a potentially tricky tie in Istanbul. France international Antoine Griezmann ran rings around a leaky Galatasaray defence with two goals in a seven-minute spell to settle the game in the first half. Despite an improvement by Galatasaray in the second half, the tie demonstrated the considerable gulf in class between sides.
Benfica v Astana
Nicolas Gaitan and Kostas Mitroglou scored in the second half to give Benfica a 2-0 win over newcomers Astana in Group C. Gaitan got the breakthrough, breaking into the area from the left flank and firing a low drive into the far corner. Mitroglou extended the Portuguese club’s lead when he tapped in Eliseu’s cross from the left. The goals came after a frustrating first half in which Benfica dominated the run of play but could not pierce Astana’s defence.
Sevilla v Borussia Monchengladbach
Sevilla scored two penalties to emerge with a 3-0 win against Borussia Monchengladbach. Sevilla dominated the entire Group D match, but they only led 1-0 after Kevin Gameiro converted one of two penalties in the first five minutes of the second half before Ever Banega stepped up to take the third spot kick the 66th and coolly slotted into the corner. Sevilla’s Yevhen Konoplyanka came on in the 83rd and a minute later scored Sevilla’s third.
Wolfsburg v CSKA
Julian Draxler’s first goal for Wolfsburg was enough for the Bundesliga runners-up to begin with a 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow. Draxler, brought in from league rivals Schalke to replace the departed Kevin de Bruyne, broke the deadlock in the Group B game five minutes before the break. The Germany midfielder stabbed home the rebound from close range after Igor Akinfeev saved his initial headed effort.
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