Rio Ferdinand and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in Axel Tuanzebe agreement after Man Utd heroics.
Rio Ferdinand and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer heaped praise on Axel Tuanzebe following his heroics in Manchester United’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils had been on course for a morale-boosting start to Group H rather than a victorious one after Anthony Martial’s second-half own goal cancelled out stand-in skipper Bruno Fernandes’ spot-kick.
But 19 months on from securing their historic last-16 comeback triumph in the French capital, Marcus Rashford struck late to secure another stunning victory at PSG as United ran out 2-1 winners in their Champions League opener.
However it was the exploits of Tuanzebe which impressed pundits and managers alike, with the defender making his first appearance of 2020 after a torrid time with injuries.
United shackled PSG’s star-studded backline, with Neymar and Kylian Mbappe both frustrated by Tuanzebe, whose night in Paris was one to remember.
“Axel did fantastic,” Solskjaer said of Tuanzebe, who could be in for more appearances after the United boss revealed Eric Bailly faces up to four weeks out with a muscle injury.
“He’s been out since the game against Colchester, 10 months or something? To put up a performance like this against Neymar and Mbappe, I have to say he almost surprised us as well.
“We know he’s a good player but on a night like this, he was fantastic. We might see this system again, of course, we have had some good games in it.”
And former United defender Ferdinand believes Tuanzebe, who deputised for injured captain Harry Maguire, should retain his first-team spot.
Asked if Tuanzebe has made himself undroppable, Ferdinand told BT Sport: “Yes. Ole has just said it’s two of the best two strikers in the world, he snuffed out danger many a time today.
“You have to reward performances like that. He’s had a hard time with injuries – first game in 10 months – to come in and play like that, from in out of the cold, you deserve to be rewarded.
“But Ole is the man to make that decision.”
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