'He wants to shield the ball': Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Paul Pogba was 'unlucky' to get sent off in Manchester United's defeat by PSG By Chris Wheeler for the Daily Mail Published: 23:45 GMT, 12 February 2019 | Updated: 23:45 GMT, 12 February 2019 Viewcomments Manchester United’s Champions League hopes are hanging by a thread after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered his first defeat as caretaker boss on a night of misery at Old Trafford. Solskjaer insisted United can still reach the quarter-finals by overturning a 2-0 first-leg beating at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain. But they will have to do it without Paul Pogba, who will be suspended after picking up his second yellow card in the 89th minute on Tuesday night. ‘Mountains are there to be climbed,’ said Solskjaer, who had won 10 of his first 11 games in charge. ‘You can’t lay down and say this is over. We will go there, play our game and improve. Today is a reality check for us.’ Ole Gunnar Solskjaer suffered his first defeat as caretaker boss against PSG on Tuesday night No club has ever progressed after losing at home in the first leg of a Champions League tie by two goals. After a goalless first half, PSG struck twice in eight minutes through Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe. To make matters worse for United, both were set up by Angel Di Maria who was booed on his return to Old Trafford, where he endured a poor season in 2014-15. Solskjaer added: ‘They had the momentum after the first goal and controlled the game. You could see that we hadn’t played at this level for a while and we will have to learn. It was an experience that can go either way, it’s not going to be a season defining one, it’s one we have to learn from.’ On Pogba, who was booked in the first half for a foul on Marco Verratti and then shown a second yellow card in the 89th minute for raking his studs down the leg of Dani Alves, Solskjaer added: ‘He’s unlucky. ‘Paul Pogba tries to get his body across and Dani Alves is clever enough to put his foot in there. Paul wants to shield the ball.’ United’s task was made even harder when they lost Anthony Martial and Jesse Lingard to injury at the end of the first half, but Solskjaer refused to use it as an excuse. United will play the second leg in France without Paul Pogba after the midfielder was sent off ‘You can’t say that’s a reason,’ he said. ‘We had quality players to come on but Lingard and Martial give us something and let’s hope they are not too serious. They are muscle injuries. We have to wait a couple of days.’ It was the first time United have lost a European tie at Old Trafford by more than one goal and leaves them with an uphill battle in the return leg on March 6. PSG coach Thomas Tuchel praised Di Maria, a £59.7million flop during his one season at United, for brushing off the jeers of the home fans, and claimed Ashley Young should have received a second booking for shoving his old team-mate into the perimeter wall. Tuchel said: ‘Young plays many, many times here, and he knows there is a hill, so there was no need to push Di Maria into the fans. I am happy there was no injury. Di Maria is competitive. If you tease him it doesn’t make him weaker, of course.’ PSG coach Thomas Tuchel praised Di Maria, a £59.7million flop during his one season at United Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site dailymail and under his responsibility