Thursday briefing: 'We have to go and win'
Scott McTominay says Manchester United must go to Leipzig on Tuesday with the intention of claiming all three points.
Even after the 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, the Reds require one point to secure progress to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
But Scott is wary of the risks of playing for the draw – particularly with Group H so tight, as United, PSG and RB Leipzig are now all deadlocked on nine points.
He insists the lads should travel to Germany aiming for victory, against a side we thrashed 5-0 at Old Trafford, in one of our finest performances of the season to date.
McTominay's assessment of a frustrating night
Scott is visibly annoyed about the defeat in our interview, but the midfielder remains confident we will progress...
“For us the result at home [against PSG] is out of the equation now, we forget about it,” our no.39 told MUTV after the final whistle.
“It’s a game we have to go and win. You can’t just go there and play for a point. You have to go and approach it like you want to win that football match and that’s definitely what we’re going to do.”
While the Scotland international was keen to put our European defeat behind him, he admitted that there were lessons he and his team-mates could take from the meeting with Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Avoiding conceding first – as we have done in each of our four Premier League away games, as well as the loss to Istanbul Basaksehir in Turkey – is one thing to keep in mind. But on a more positive note, Scott was pleased with how the Reds responded to the early setback of Neymar’s goal.
“That’s happened to us before,” continued the 23-year-old. “We’re not fazed if we concede early, but we’ve got to cut that out in general.
“Sometimes we start well, sometimes we don’t, but we have to cut out those early goals we concede before the game’s even started. It’s not good enough.
“The way we responded was brilliant, in terms of the chances we created, and for us it’s a tough pill to swallow in that dressing room.
“The positives we’ll take away from it are a lot and obviously we’ve got a big game next week.”
Ole's verdict on United 1 PSG 3
Watch as Solskjaer discusses our performance, missed chances, Fred's red card and the situation in Group H...
WHAT’S HAPPENING TODAY?
Our November Goal of the Month winner is set to be announced, with Bruno Fernandes's strike against Istanbul Basaksehir and Edinson Cavani's first header v Southampton currently neck and neck in the voting.
With West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday quickly appearing on the horizon, we'll be turning our attentions back to the Premier League action, with hopefully some updates on player fitness, as well as a look at how the Hammers are doing.
A feisty affair
GalleryThese pics tell at least part of the story of our Champions League battle with PSG.
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?
Aside from events at Old Trafford, Bruno Fernandes was crowned United’s Player of the Month for November – the fifth time he’s won the accolade since joining the club in January.
The Portuguese midfielder saw off competition from Harry Maguire and Fred, who messaged Bruno on Instagram shortly after the result was made clear.
Away from football, we posted some exciting news about our 'virtual' Christmas markets - will you take the tour to get yourself in a festive mood?