Good evening! It is back ladies and gentlemen! The
Champions League proper returns tonight as matchday one of the group stages gets underway. Thank you for joining
Sports Mole for this match between Dutch champions
PSV Eindhoven and
Manchester United, with both sides looking for a winning return to the competition having missed out last season. It should be a special occasion at the Philips Stadion! Let's start with a look at some team news...
PSV STARTING XI: Zoet; Arias, Bruma, Moreno, Brenet; Hendrix, Propper, Guardado; Narsingh, De Jong, Lestienne
PSV SUBS: Pasveer, Pereiro, Schaars, Poulsen, Locadia, Vloet, De Wijs
MAN UTD STARTING XI: De Gea; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw; Schweinsteiger, Herrera; Young, Mata, Memphis; Martial
MAN UTD SUBS: Romero, McNair, Rojo, Carrick, Schneiderlin, Valencia, Fellaini
What can we make of those two sides, then? Well, as far as the hosts are concerned it is no surprise to see
Philip Cocu named an unchanged team from the weekend. His side were on top form against Cambuur on Saturday, thrashing their Eredivisie rivals 6-0 away from home. The PSV boss sticks with exactly the same XI players for tonight's game, which means no place in the side - or indeed the squad - for left-back Jetro Willems, who had been tipped for his first involvement of the season today.
Luuk de Jong was the star from that rout at the weekend, bagging himself a hat-trick, and he is likely to be the biggest threat to the United defence tonight. PSV need players to step up when it comes to goals following the departure of
Memphis Depay this summer (more on him later), and De Jong could well be the man to replace the winger as PSV's star player now.
One player who may feel slightly hard done by at not starting is Locadia, who once again has to settle for a place on the bench. He came on as a sub to score twice in the victory over Cambuur and may feel like he did enough to earn a start today, but Cocu has opted to stick rather than twist. It is certainly a lot easier to do that off the back of such an emphatic victory!
The standout name from both team sheets for PSV fans will be that of Memphis Depay, who was a major reason behind their Eredivisie title success last season. He scored 22 goals in the league for the Dutch outfit to fire them to silverware, and tonight makes his Champions League proper debut against his former club having scored twice in the playoffs to help Manchester United here. He hasn't quite lived up to the hype that surrounded his £31m move so far, but tonight could be the night for him to shine.
As for United fans, they will probably be most interested by the man who starts up front for them. With Wayne Rooney out for the second game in succession due to a hamstring injury, 19-year-old Anthony Martial comes into the side for his first Manchester United start. His debut couldn't have gone much better, with the world's most expensive teen sealing victory against arch rivals Liverpool with a memorable solo goal on Saturday evening. There were echoes of Thierry Henry about the goal and, if he can replicate those sorts of heroics on a regular basis then his £36m fee may not seem to ludicrous after all.
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Martial is one of two changes to the United starting lineup from that Liverpool game, with Fellaini dropping to the bench to accommodate the new boy. The other switch sees Ashley Young return to the side having also made an impact off the bench at the weekend, with the winger coming in for Michael Carrick. That means that Herrera will drop back into a deeper midfield role alongside Schweinsteiger, with Schneiderlin left on the bench for the second game in succession.
Up front, it is important that Martial has another impact tonight as, with neither Rooney or Wilson on the bench, they don't have many other options if things aren't working in the final third. Fellaini started as the main striker against Liverpool without really having an impact, although there is no doubt that he can be effective off the bench as a Plan B. Mata has weighed in with goals and assists this season too, so there is still the attacking talent out there for Van Gaal's side but, with Rooney out, the strength in depth is certainly questionable.
At the other end of the field there are no changes from Van Gaal as he sticks with the same back four that have served him well so far this season. Smalling and Blind have formed a good, solid defensive partnership, with the latter even getting on the scoresheet against Liverpool on Saturday. On the wings, Darmian has made a fine start to his United career, while Shaw is beginning to show why the club shelled out so much for him last summer. Behind them is once again David de Gea, who has slotted straight back in as number one after the collapse of his proposed move to Real Madrid.
There is plenty of quality for PSV to overcome today, then, but they have been waiting to rub shoulders with Europe's elite for long enough now. They have not graced the Champions League proper since the 2008-09 season, when they finished bottom of a group that also contained Liverpool, Atletico Madrid and Marseille. The closest they have come since then was reaching the playoffs in 2013-14, when they were knocked out by AC Milan 4-1 on aggregate. Even so, this is their 14th appearance in the Champions League proper - more than any other Dutch team.
They are here by virtue of winning the Eredivisie title last season, ending a lean spell which had gone on for far too long as far as they were concerned. Their triumph last term was their first title in seven years, having won it six times in the seven years prior to that. It will certainly go down as a major slump in their history, with the drought being the longest with a league title since a run of eight years from 1977-78 to 1985-86.
The defence of their crown has got off to a decent start, but they still find themselves in fifth place after five games of the new season. They are just two points off Ajax and are only of only three unbeaten teams remaining, but three wins and two draws is not exactly all-conquering form. One of those victories was a 3-1 triumph over expected title rivals Feyenoord, however, so Cocu will be relatively content with the start his side have made.
They should come into tonight's game full of confidence given their most recent result - a 6-0 mauling of Cambuur on Saturday. The result was even more impressive considering it came away from home, with PSV scoring three times in each half to put their hosts to the sword. It should be noted that Cambuur had a man sent off as early as the eighth minute, but it was still an impressive result for the visiting side.
Unsurprisingly given that rout, no tea, has scored more goals in the first five games of the Eredivisie season than PSV, who have 14 to their name despite the sale of Memphis Depay in the summer. They have only scored less than one goal in one of their previous 12 outings in all competitions, netting 37 times overall in that spell and conceding just 10. In terms of the Eredivisie this season, only leaders Ajax can boast a better defensive record so far.
PSV are unbeaten in that 12-game streak, a run that stretches all the way back to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Feyenoord on March 22. They have won each of their last six home games, two of which have come this term, but they have struggled in front of their own fans in Europe. They drew one and lost two of their most recent three European outings at home - in the Europa League last term - while in the Champions League they have won just one of their last seven matches at the Philips Stadion.
I have already mentioned their impressive goalscoring record domestically, but they have struggled to replicate that in Europe down the years. Indeed, they have not scored more than two goals in any of their last 30 Champions League matches - a run that stretches back to a 3-1 win over AC Milan in the semi-finals of the 2005 tournament. This will be
Philip Cocu's first taste of the Champions League proper as a coach, despite all of his experience as a player, and in
Louis van Gaal he comes up against a familiar face having played under his compatriot for both Barcelona and the Netherlands.
Van Gaal will certainly have a wealth of knowledge regarding Dutch football following his time at Ajax, AZ and with the national team, and he could well look to use that tonight. He didn't have the best record away to PSV during his time in his home country, but he has greater weapons at his disposal now and there is no doubt that United come into this match as favourites to pick up the three points, despite having been away from the competition proper for a year themselves.
It has been something of a hit-and-miss start to the season for United. Victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa were not entirely convincing but got points on the board, while a draw at home to Newcastle had many fans bemoaning the lack of a goalscorer up front. A loss to Swansea followed in the league - their only defeat in any competition so far this season - leading to the headline-grabbing final days of the transfer window in which they kept De Gea and signing Martial.
The biggest high of the season so far undoubtedly came on Saturday, though, with United running out 3-1 victors over their fiercest rivals Liverpool. The first half was a truly dreadful display from both sides, but Blind's moment of quality to open the scoring set the wheels in motion for a brilliant second 45 minutes. Herrera added a penalty to put United in command, but Christian Benteke's sensational bicycle kick brought Liverpool back into it. Up stepped Martial just two minutes later, however, to seal a memorable three points for the Red Devils.
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In terms of the Champions League so far, it has all been pretty plan sailing. United were handed a kind playoff draw against Club Brugge, and they cruised through to the group stages with a 7-1 victory on aggregate, thanks largely to a 4-0 thrashing in the away second leg. Their domestic problems in front of goal showed no signs of surfacing on the continental stage, with Depay and Rooney getting five goals between them over the two legs.
United have only won two of their last eight Champions League away games, and one of their last seven in the competition proper. However, their general record in this tournament is good - even when David Moyes was in charge. They have lost just two of their last 12 outings, keeping clean sheets in six of the last 10. They went through the last group stage without losing a game, while they have progressed into the knockout rounds in seven of their last eight attempts. Considering that they have a relatively kind draw once again this time around, they will be confident of improving that record.
In all competitions their form - in terms of results at least - is encouraging too. The defeat to Swansea - which came courtesy of a poor five-minute spell as much as anything else - is their only loss in their last 10 competitive fixtures, a run that stretches back to May 2 when they were beaten by West Brom. They have won five of their seven games this season, and they will feel that that should be six following that goalless draw with Newcastle.
When it comes to away form, their record is fairly mixed in truth. They have won six, drawn three and lost four of their last 13 outings on the road in all competitions which, while by no means being a disastrous record, isn't quite good enough if they are to challenge on all fronts. Van Gaal has strangely already ruled his side out of the domestic title race this season but, having spent more than £250m on players since his arrival, there will be those who argue that United should be looking to return to the very top of the game, both domestically and in Europe.
PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at the Philips Stadion, which means that it is time for a prediction! Both sides have started the season fairly well and come into this game off the back of a morale-boosting victory, but United have the superior quality in their squad, even without the injured Rooney. They are the favourites for this match and I can see them celebrating their return to the Champions League proper with a 2-1 victory.
PSV don't have a great record against Premier League sides in Europe, losing each of their last three home meetings with teams from England's top flight. The most recent of those saw them beaten 1-0 by Arsenal in the last 16 of the 2006-07 Champions League, while in terms of Manchester United themselves, PSV have only won one of their previous four European meetings.
That victory came back in September 2000, when these two sides were also drawn alongside each other in the group stage. Wilfried Bouma, Mark van Bommel and Mateja Kezman all scored to cancel out an early Paul Scholes penalty, but United returned the favour at Old Trafford in October - the most recent meeting between these two sides. Scholes was again on the scoresheet, this time alongside Sheringham and Yorke, while Van Bommel got PSV's goal on that occasion.
United also came out on top in a UEFA Cup second round meeting between these two sides back in 1984-85, with Gordon Strachan's extra-time goal at Old Trafford the difference over two legs. In all, United have only lost one of their last four visits to the Netherlands in all competitions, with their most recent trip seeing them beat Ajax in the last 32 of the 2011-12 Europa League.
There are, of course, a number of other mouth-watering fixtures taking place across Europe tonight, including back in Manchester itself where City host last season's runners-up Juventus. We have live coverage of every single game for you tonight on Sports Mole.
KICKOFF: United get us underway in their new black third shirts with white shorts. There is a great atmosphere inside the Philips Stadion and so there should be - the Champions League is back!
Important piece of defending from Smalling, who is wearing the captain's armband for United tonight. He steps in to make a clean challenge after Herrera's poor touch had given the ball away.
PSV have made a decent enough start to this match on the ball, making one or two half-breaks forward without ever seriously troubling the United defence. It's enough to keep the crowd up for it so far, though.
CHANCE! Good chance for United as a long ball forward finds Memphis on the left. The winger can't quite take it first time, but catches up with the ball before playing a low pass in towards the box. Martial gets in front of his man to poke the ball goalwards, but it is a tame effort and easy for the keeper.
United will be pretty pleased with the start they have made to the match. They have seen plenty of the ball in the opening exchanges and look sharp both on and off the ball at the moment.
Good work from Young down the right as he back-heels the ball to Mata before racing down the line for the return pass. He whips a nice early cross into the box that Arias has to shovel behind rather awkwardly.
Well, having just praised Young for a good cross he goes and produces a shocker. Again United won the ball back in a good area with pressure on Guardado, but this time Young sent his cross far too high and out for a goal kick.
Still no massive chances for either side to shout about, with Martial's effort early on the closest we have come so far. It is United who are on top right now, though, and they look most like breaking the deadlock as things stand.
Brilliant burst from Shaw as he races in from the left and glides past a couple of defenders on his way into the box. He is eventually denied by a fine last-ditch challenge from Moreno, which leaves Shaw in a heap on the floor. This looks like a bad one.
It looks like a broken ankle for Shaw, which is so unfortunate considering how well he started this season. On a second look, Moreno certainly caught Shaw heavily with his trailing leg, and it was one of those that you will only see one replay of. Shaw is set for a long spell on the sidelines here.
Still the physios attend to Shaw on the pitch. It really was a horrendous one for the left-back and the medical staff are rightly taking their time over this one. It may even be worse than a broken ankle for the England international and that could well be his season over and done with.
The players are trying to keep themselves warm and loose by knocking the ball about and stretching, such has been the length of this stoppage.
All sides of the Philips Stadion applaud Shaw as he is wheeled off on a stretcher, receiving oxygen as he goes. What a terrible slice of luck for such a young player who had made a really promising start to the season.
MAN UTD SUB: Shaw is replaced by Marcos Rojo, and the look from Van Gaal after a word with the medical staff makes the situation seem even worse for United fans.
That change has seen Daley Blind move over to the left side of the defence, with Rojo slotting in alongside Smalling in the middle.
There is a rather subdued feel to the game now after that lengthy stoppage. Often a match can take a while to get going again after such an incident, but whatever happens now it is going to be overshadowed by Shaw's injury.
PSV think that they are in behind the United defence for the first time tonight as Brenet wins the ball back well before playing a one-two with a teammate and sliding Narsingh in down the left channel. The winger only has De Gea to beat from a tight angle, but the flag is up.
Up goes the flag again, this time against Lestienne who also looked to be through on goal momentarily. PSV are starting to grow into the match as an attacking force, though, and United are being forced to weather a bit of a storm here.
United respond with a decent spell of possession themselves, but that positive period for PSV certainly got the crowd going again after the long stoppage. United, on the other hand, look to be suffering something of a hangover from the aftermath of Shaw's injury.
United are doing exactly what they need to now, quelling any PSV momentum that might be building by just keeping the ball. They are in no rush to get forward, knocking the ball about at their own pace.
Zoet collects the ball but is under immediate pressure from Martial and can only clear the ball as far as Schweinsteiger. The goal is open, but the German turns down the shot and instead wins a free kick in a good position...
Half a chance for United as Mata swings the free kick towards Martial. The youngster is beaten to the ball by Bruma, who nods it onto the shoulder of Martial which sends it behind for a goal kick.
Just five minutes remain of normal time in this first half, but we are expecting up to 10 minutes of stoppage time due to
Luke Shaw's injury so there is still plenty of time for either side to break the deadlock before the interval.
GOAL! PSV 0-1 Manchester United (Memphis Depay)
Who else? Memphis Depay opens the scoring against his former club, and it is a superb effort from the winger. He collects the ball while cutting inside from the left, beating Arias before swerving between the full-back and Bruma with a brilliant piece of footwork. That puts him through on goal, and he keeps his composure with the finish to slot it underneath the goalkeeper.
CLOSE! Almost a second in quick succession for Memphis as United find themselves in a three-on-two situation. Mata slips the ball to him, and he drills a low effort inches past the far post.
CHANCE! Smalling looks to have been inspired by those recent goals from Memphis and Martial! He goes on a jinking run of his own, nicking the ball away from Lestienne inside the PSV half and driving at the last defender. Bruma slips, which sees Smalling go through on goal, but the stand-in skipper is denied by a fine stop from the keeper.
There will be eight minutes of added time at the end of this first half due to that injury suffered by Luke Shaw.
GOAL! PSV 1-1 Manchester United (Hector Moreno)
PSV level things up, and it is a first goal for the club from
Hector Moreno - the man who put that challenge in on Shaw. He gets his head to a corner and sends it goalwards, but it is Blind who gets the final touch. The replays aren't entirely conclusive as to whether it was an own goal or not, but Moreno will certainly claim it. It did seem to be heading on target, but Young may have cleared it on the line without Blind's touch.
That is a huge goal for PSV as United had started to create a lot more chances following the opening goal. Memphis and Smalling both had good chances to double the lead, but now the hosts will be looking to stay level until the interval.
CHANCE! Another chance for Memphis down that left channel as PSV fail to deal with a cross into the box. Moreno can only divert it into the path of Memphis at the back post, but his touch lets him down and a good chance goes begging.
Young is the latest to find him in space inside the box, but he turns down the shot in favour of whipping a ball across the face of goal that goes all the way through to safety.
HALF TIME: PSV Eindhoven 1-1 Manchester United
A prolonged and incident-packed first half comes to an end at the Philips Stadion, with PSV and Manchester United going into the break all square at 1-1. The half was overshadowed by a horror injury suffered by Luke Shaw, but the players will need to refocus for the second half as they look to get their Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
Unfortunately, the injury to Shaw was the standout moment of the half, with the England international suffering what looked like a broken leg which could keep him out of action for the rest of the season. On first glance it looked like a good last-ditch challenge from Moreno to end what was a really bright run from Shaw, but the replays showed that the PSV centre-back leapt into the challenge and caught Shaw's ankle with his trailing leg. He did get the ball, but it was a very forceful challenge.
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As expected, the match went through a bit of a lull for a spell after that lengthy stoppage, but it was United who opened the scoring in the 41st minute when Memphis Depay netted against his former club. It was a brilliant goal from the winger, who collected a pass from Blind on his way inside before skipping between two defenders and sliding the ball underneath the keeper.
That lead last just six minutes, however, as Moreno nodded his side level in the second of eight minutes stoppage time. The Mexican arguably shouldn't have been on the field after his challenge on Shaw, but he did well to climb above Darmian and get a header towards goal. Blind got the final touch to take it away from Young on the line, but it will probably go down as a Moreno goal.
There were a number of other chances throughout the first half, the majority of which fell to United. Indeed, the visitors could have doubled their lead before PSV pulled a goal back, with Memphis flashing a low strike narrowly past the far post just two minutes after breaking the deadlock. Smalling then channeled his inner Depay to win the ball off Lestienne and race through on goal, beating Bruma only to be denied by a fine save from Zoet.
KICKOFF: PSV get us back underway for this second half with the match finely poised at 1-1. Who can get a winner on matchday one of the new Champions League season?
An update of sorts from Luke Shaw himself. The full-back has received plenty of well wishes from players past and present on Twitter since that injury:
United have controlled the ball in the opening exchanges of this second half, with PSV unable to really get going so far. Memphis and Young have swapped wings for the time being, incidentally.
CHANCE! The two big-money summer signings look to combine for United as Memphis feeds the ball in to Martial, who holds off his man before laying it back to the former PSV man. The pass is slightly off and causing Martial to stretch for it, meaning that he can't get enough power on his shot to truly trouble the keeper.
A hint of a penalty shout for PSV as Darmian has his arms around Moreno inside the box as a corner arrives. Moreno eventually goes down, but the referee is having none of it. Both players had hold of each other in fairness, but it was a risky piece of play from Darmian.
YELLOW CARD! The first yellow card of the match goes the way of Arias for a challenge on Young, but the full-back got a toe on the ball and can feel harshly done by there.
GOAL! PSV 2-1 Manchester United (Luciano Narsingh)
The turnaround is complete! PSV take the lead with a brilliant counter-attacking goal as Guardado sends a fine pass down the left for Lestienne, who delivers in equally impressive cross into the middle. The speed of the attack means that United's defence is out of position, and Narsingh is left unmarked to nod home from inside the area.
SHOT! United go in search of an immediate response through Juan Mata, but the Spaniard rather rushes his effort from 20 yards and slices the ball high and wide of the target.
YELLOW CARD! Moreno goes into the book for a late challenge, although many United fans will feel that he should already be off the field.
CHANCE! Oh what a chance this is for United! Schweinsteiger dinks a beauty of a pass over the defence for Mata's perfectly-timed run into the box. The Spaniard is only a few yards out, but completely mis-controls the ball and it squirms under his foot and behind for a goal kick. He simply had to score there, or at the very least play it back across goal for Memphis to tap it home.
United really need to make the most of chances like this if they are to avoid defeat here. The way the match is going you'd expect them to get a couple more good sights of goal, but perhaps none as clear as that.
SAVES! Both goalkeepers are called into action, although both saves are comfortable ones. Brenet is the first to test De Gea with a curling effort that the Spaniard holds, while at the other end of the field Herrera curls one straight into the arms of Zoet.
United are putting PSV under sustained pressure here, and you feel that a second goal is coming for the visitors. The hosts have their backs to the wall at the moment, but their defence is holding firm so far.
YELLOW CARD! Chris Smalling becomes the latest player in the book for a challenge on Guardado that leaves the midfielder writhing around on the floor, although I doubt the injury is as bad as he is making out.
Guardado is made to wait to come back on, but eventually the referee calls him back. I may have done him a bit of a disservice there as he is still not moving freely at all. PSV may need to make a change here.
YELLOW CARD! Bruma is the latest player to go into the book for protesting that United should have kicked the ball out when Guardado had fallen to the ground once again.
PSV SUB: There is the change as Stijn Schaars replaces Guardado, who slowly hobbles to the sidelines.
Darmian sends the ball in from the right and it finds Martial, but it is a fraction behind the youngster and he can't bring it under his spell. Time is running out for United here. They have dominated possession in the second half but there has been no way through so far.
MAN UTD SUB: Here comes Plan B for United as Marouane Fellaini replaces Herrera.
CHANCE! Decent opening for the visitors as Memphis slides a pass down the right channel for Martial, who is played onside by Arias. The angle is against the youngster, however, and he drags his effort wide of the far post.
Well, United would have seen this as a very kind Champions League draw, but unless they can come up with something in the next 10 minutes then it will be a losing start for them and they will be playing catch-up already.
There goes the first high ball into Fellaini, and he takes the ball down on his chest before laying it back to Mata. The Spaniard tries to slip a pass through to Martial, but he puts too much on it and it goes through for a goal kick.
CHANCES! Another quick counter from PSV as Lestienne is again released down the left flank. He has a couple of players trying to get up in support but goes for goal himself from a very tough angle, sending his shot into the arms of De Gea. Moments later he gets the ball again and slides a pass past Smalling to De Jong, who lashes it high and wide of the near post from inside the box.
United have been in complete control of possession for the vast majority of this half, but they have got sloppy in the last few minutes. PSV still look very dangerous on the break and could well add to their lead if things carry on like this. This game is far from over just yet!
PSV SUB: A late change for the hosts as Jurgen Locadia replaces Lestienne.
MAN UTD SUB: United make a change of their own too, with Young making way for Antonio Valencia.
Increasingly desperate times for United as Fellaini goes for goal from range, drilling a low effort comfortably wide of the target.
Another hint of a shooting chance as Fellaini knocks the ball down for Mata, who again turns down the shot to give it back to Fellaini, who himself can get an effort away. They just can't find a way through this PSV defence at the moment.
United waste a free kick in a very good crossing position as we enter the first of three minutes added time.
Almost a breakaway for PSV as United throw everyone forward, leaving their defence threadbare. Narsingh leads the charge but takes too long over his decision before eventually sending a pass out for a goal kick.
FULL TIME: PSV Eindhoven 2-1 Manchester United
PSV hold out for a famous victory on their Champions League return, inflicting defeat on United on their own return in the process. The visitors took the lead through former PSV man Memphis Depay, but goals from Moreno and Narsingh send Van Gaal's side packing from Eindhoven without anything to show for it. The match was overshadowed too by a horrible injury to Shaw, so it has been a miserable day all round for United.
That is all we have time for this evening! Thank you very much for joining
Sports Mole on what was a night to forget for Manchester United as they go down 2-1 to PSV Eindhoven. I will leave you with our
match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. There is more Champions League football tomorrow night, so be sure to check in with us for that. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!