Man United Out of Champions League After Leipzig Defeat: De Gea Struggles, Pogba Shines

Manchester United's Champions League campaign ended in Germany, where they lost 3-2 to RB Leipzig. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side went out, and the Manchester Evening News marked every player who took part. The lowest grades went to the defence, the goalkeeper and the manager.

The damage began early. The paper says Nemanja Matic's selection backfired before the second-minute mark, and it argues that choosing him ahead of Donny van de Beek and Paul Pogba must have lifted Leipzig. Matic got a 3. Solskjaer also set United up in a back three, a formation the paper calls understandable. But it says certain personnel gave the team a negative look, invited Leipzig on to them and left United hammered. The manager got a 3.

David de Gea returned to the side and was rated 3. He was helpless for the first two goals, the paper says, and did not instil confidence in the players in front of him. Aaron Wan-Bissaka received a 2, the lowest mark of the night. Leipzig's Angelino ghosted past him so often, the paper writes, that he must have been wearing an invisibility cloak, and it adds that Wan-Bissaka did not like attacking and did not like defending. Alex Telles made the same mistake as Wan-Bissaka for the second goal. He was substituted at half-time and also scored a 3.

The centre of the defence fared little better. Harry Maguire had defended United's defending before the match, and the paper says it wished he had been as defensive on the pitch. It says he was overrun by Leipzig's quick forwards, and that he might be credited with the second goal. He scored a 3. Victor Lindelof, a 4, was overwhelmed by Leipzig's intensity and looked comfortable only in the calmer spells. He was booked in the second half and substituted. Luke Shaw, also a 4, was swamped on his return in the back three, and his rustiness was punished. He was booked too.

In midfield and attack there were some positives. Scott McTominay tried to get United going in the first half with little success, then stayed on to balance the midfield, and received a 5. Bruno Fernandes was the highest-rated starter with a 7. He was isolated without another midfield partner and quickly became frustrated by the porous defending. Even so, he was one of the more alert players. He was unlucky to hit the crossbar with a free-kick, and he scored a penalty.

Marcus Rashford, rated 5, had enough efforts to trouble Leipzig and his running put them on the back foot, but he never properly tested the goalkeeper. Mason Greenwood, a 6, produced some virtuoso pieces of skill. He did not score, but the paper says he is undeniably back on form.

The substitutes changed the feel of the game. Van de Beek, a 6, immediately gave United another attacking outlet and more purpose. Pogba, a 7 and better than most of his teammates, leaped to force in the second goal off Maguire. Brandon Williams, also a 6, helped push United higher up the pitch. Axel Tuanzebe, a 6, made a strange late arrival but his speed helped. Timothy Fosu-Mensah, a 5, made a stranger one.

After the exit, the focus falls on Solskjaer's team selection and shape. The ratings suggest the questions will be about who starts in midfield and how the defence is set up, with Fernandes, Greenwood and Pogba the clearest positives.