Mauricio Pochettino’s Paris Saint-Germain lost 2-1 to Manchester City on Wednesday night.
Pochettino had a good record against City as Tottenham boss, knocking them out of the competition in 2019, but was unable to work his magic with PSG.
The French side had taken the lead through Kylian Mbappe, before conceding twice to lose the game.
The defeat came amid a backdrop of rumours linking Pochettino with the Manchester United manager job. The Telegraph insist he remains the top target and deny an approach has already been made.
Despite the defeat, PSG are into the Champions League last 16. Ominously, as group runners up.
United clash just feels inevitable
Manchester United are through as group winners, and PSG are one of the teams United could be drawn against.
Other potential opponents include Sporting, and possibly Barcelona, Juventus, Porto, Salzburg or Inter Milan.
But there’s no doubt that United against PSG would be the big headline tie, whichever side Pochettino is managing.
United have history with PSG, knocking the French side out of the competition at the same stage in 2019, before trading group stage wins in 2020.
A match against PSG this time would either see Pochettino manage the French side against an interim boss (and harm his case if he loses), or see him in the United dugout, possibly taking on Zinedine Zidane.
The chances of the two teams meeting at a later stage is also a possibility, even if the tie is avoided at the last 16.
The Pochettino issue is such a talking point that it overshadows the other main headline between the two teams if we are drawn against each other, a titanic battle between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo and Messi have faced off before in the Champions League, recently in the group stages while the former was at Juventus.
If the pair do get to face off for United and PSG, it would have a fresh feel, and could possibly be the last time they do so.
The only question will be over who will be managed by Pochettino, whether it will be Messi or Ronaldo?
- Donald Trump will be at World Cup final, but US president’s Man Utd ‘connection’ is deeper than some might think
- Analysing how Marcus Rashford performed in England’s 6-4 win over France
- Lisandro Martinez has never taken penalty in his whole career, but this is what he could do in World Cup final
- Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ineos have once again been vindicated with major Man Utd call, despite Wrexham defeat
- 14 things I liked and disliked from Man Utd vs Wrexham pre-season opener
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
