“Ici c’est Manchester!”
Cantona, Neymar, Pogba, Evra, Neymar’s father, a crazy match and some fleet-footed security staff. All the ingredients right there.
It all kicked off up in the stands, at Le Parc des Princes, on Wednesday. Manchester United were roundly written off before their Champions League Last 16 second leg clash with Paris Saint Germain.
No team in the knock-out stages of the competition had ever come back from 2-0 down after a first leg to progress, but United did just that with a 3-1 victory in Paris.
Paul Pogba, who was suspended for the game, captured some of the post-match bedlam (for United fans anyway) up in the stands. He was joined by former United captain Patrice Evra for the game and both men lapped up the victory:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BurwWPOFcq4/
Evra was criticised in the French media, by former Monaco teammate Jerome Rothen and others, for celebrating so boisterously after the game. However, Evra took to Instagram with a 10-minute response that included these rejoinders:
“I was told Jerome said some nasty things about me. I didn’t believe it but then I was shown the video. Your reward, next time I see you, I’m going to slap you in the face… Piece of sh**. Stop telling bullsh**, stop telling lies. Be careful, because we will cross roads eventually. I am sure we will.”
According to RMC Sports, Evra was not the only person ruffling feathers up in the stands. Eric Cantona, another former United captain, reportedly sparked an altercation with the father of injured PSG talisman Neymar after the game.
Neymar joined his father, Neymar Sr, the brother of teammate Marquinho and friends of Daniel Alves but left the stands in the final 15 minutes to watch the end-game from the sidelines.
When the final whistle blew, minutes after Marcus Rashford’s penalty made it 3-1 to United, one of Cantona’s party got the attention of Neymar Sr. and reportedly made a ‘provocative gesture’ [placing his finger to his mouth in a ‘shush’ motion].
That sparked off a flurry of activity as some of the Brazilians tried to approach Cantona and his colleagues. PSG security intervened and Cantona was eventually brought down to the United dressing room, along with his former boss Alex Ferguson:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bur1GLghOw_/
United march on while PSG lick their wounds, but it looks as though a new European rivalry has been born.
