Manchester United fell to defeat on their return to the Champions League proper this evening as PSV Eindhoven ran out 2-1 winners at the Philips Stadion.
Luke Shaw suffered what looked to be a serious injury in the first half following a challenge from Hector Moreno, but Memphis Depay brightened the visitors' mood when his solo effort made it 1-0.
That lead lasted just six minutes before Moreno levelled things up, however, and Luciano Narsingh nodded home the winner shortly before the hour mark to hand his side all three points.
Here, Sports Mole looks at whether United deserved to come away from the match with nothing.
Match statistics
PSV
Shots: 6
On target: 4
Possession: 33%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 8
MAN UTD
Shots: 17
On target: 5
Possession: 67%
Corners: 9
Fouls: 10
Was the result fair?
Quite how Manchester United lost this game, Louis van Gaal will be struggling to work out. One look at the statistics will show you that the visitors were the better side on the night, and they created enough chances to have won the match comfortably. It is not often that a team can boast 67% possession in a Champions League away game, but while they controlled the ball for long spells, once again they were never in complete control of the game - a common criticism so far this season.
United started the better of the two sides, showing good tenacity off the ball and tidy passing on it. Shaw's awful injury understandably created something of a lull in the match, but Memphis's goal sparked United into life and they could have been out of sight before Moreno equalised just six minutes later. Memphis missed another good chance shortly after his opener, while Chris Smalling was thwarted by the keeper following a unlikely solo run of his own.
The second half was even more one-way traffic as United took complete control of the ball, but PSV seemed content with that and hit their visitors on the break to great effect. That is how the winning goal came, and they could have had one or two more during a sloppy spell from United later in the half. The Red Devils didn't create as many chances as they should have given their dominance, but they still had the openings to have won this game and they only really have themselves to blame for coming away with nothing.
PSV's performance
Much of the pre-match talk surrounded Manchester United's return to the Champions League proper following a year out, but tonight was a significant night for the hosts too. They were making their first appearance in the group stages since 2008-09, and they made sure that it would be a night to remember. In many ways, they approached this game as if it were an away tie, letting United see plenty of the ball before pouncing on the break at any opportunity.
That tactic worked in the end, but they have their defence to thank for putting in a committed display. They stood firm under relentless pressure from United in the second half and, in truth, for all of the visitors' possession, PSV rarely actually looked like conceding. There will be debates over whether Moreno should have been on the field following his challenge on Shaw, but his goal came at a vital time for PSV to ensure that they went into the break level. After Memphis's goal it looked like there would only be one winner, but the equaliser was a big moment.
The winning goal came on the counter-attack and, had PSV actually been the visiting team, you would say that it was a perfect away European performance. Phillip Cocu would have probably taken a point from this match before kickoff, and he certainly set up as if that was the case, but a win gives them a great start in their quest to make it into the knockout rounds. The performance today won't strike fear into many prospective opponents beyond this stage, but it certainly makes things interesting in Group B.
Man Utd's performance
It was meant to be a triumphant return to where they belong, but it is hard to envision how tonight could have gone much worse for United. Aside from the obvious disappointment of the result, the injury to Shaw is a massive blow for the club, and even more so for the player. Following an injury-plagued debut campaign at Old Trafford he had enjoyed a brilliant start to the new season, but it would be a surprise if we see him again in 2015-16 after he suffered a broken leg.
There were positives to take from the game - Anthony Martial and Memphis showed signs of a promising partnership brewing while the defence, for the most part, looked sturdy again. However, questions will once more be raised about their ruthlessness in the final third. They have simply not had enough cutting edge to kill teams off at times this season, and that was again the case tonight. For all of their possession, they didn't pose PSV anywhere near enough problems and, when Plan A isn't working, Van Gaal's Plan B does not look good enough for this level of competition.
Much of the possession was too slow and predictable, allowing PSV to rebuff wave after wave of attack without too much trouble. Van Gaal can point to missed chances for Memphis, Smalling and Juan Mata, amongst others, but there was still a lack of creativity and pace to their attacking moves tonight. They were considered favourites for this group when the draw was made but, on tonight's evidence, they could be in for a fight to make it through to the knockout rounds.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Maxime Lestienne: PSV's main attacking threat throughout the match came on the break, and more often than not it was Maxime Lestienne leading the charge. The winger's pace caused all sorts of problems down the left and he ended the match with two assists, the second of which saw him pick out Narsingh with a beauty of a cross.
Biggest gaffe
He may not have known too much about it, but Daley Blind's faint touch on Moreno's header was enough to take it past Ashley Young on the line to level things up. Whether it would have gone in anyway is up for debate, but there is no doubt that Blind's touch left Young no chance.
Referee performance
The post-match scrutiny on referee Nicola Rizzoli will surround Moreno's leg-breaking tackle on Shaw. The official did not award a penalty or a card for the challenge, instead pointing for a corner. With the benefit of replays we can see that it was a challenge made with unnecessary force, worthy of a red card, but in truth it looked like a brilliant last-ditch tackle in normal time.
The Mexican got the ball with his right leg after Shaw had made a fine run forward, but the trailing leg was the one that did the damage. The Italian referee may get blamed for not acting, particularly as Moreno went on to have a big say on the result, but on first glance it looked like a good piece of defending.
What next?
PSV: Next up for Cocu's side is an away tie against Heracles on Saturday evening.
Man Utd: United, meanwhile, travel to Southampton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Barney Corkhill
