Six standout behind-closed-doors matches for Man Utd

UNITED 1 PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN 3
Champions League, 02.12.20
Joe Ganley, Staff Writer 

“Maybe it’s a tad strange to nominate one of our most painful behind-closed-doors defeats as the game I’d most like to have attended, but the PSG home match tugged away at my heartstrings in every sense. For such a monumentally important encounter, within walking distance from my house, it felt particularly tragic that I and thousands of other Reds couldn’t be there to cheer the team on.

“There’s nothing like big, midweek European games: that sense of anticipation building relentlessly throughout the working day; the slowly-aggregating buzz outside OT; that special charge in the night air. And, on the pitch, the game delivered a truly great spectacle, despite the result. An end-to-end, seesawing contest, with some of the best players in the world strutting their stuff. PSG’s lads weren’t bad either. And – here comes the controversial bit – 70,000 United fans could and would have made a difference. The pandemic has proved once and for all that fans have a big impact on results. 

“The frustration might remain from our defeat, but comforting me is the knowledge that, had we been there, PSG would still be shaking from a 4-0 whupping. The sooner we’re back in the stands, the sooner we can start positively impacting on the team’s fortunes again.” 

This feature first appeared in United Review on 12 December 2020.