Three Things We Learned From Man Utd’s Preseason Draw Against Paris Saint-Germain

Manchester United played out a 1–1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain as preseason continued, making it three summer friendlies in a row without defeat since a July loss to Wrexham.

Taking on the reigning European champions, even a weakened version while World Cup players continue to report for club duty in stages, was always going to represent the toughest task of the summer so far for Michael Carrick’s team.

United themselves are still short of being at full strength but will be disappointed to have conceded so early when Ibrahim Mbaye’s movement in the penalty area was too sharp for Ayden Heaven to track, meeting Dro Fernández’s cross from the left.

The Red Devils pulled level 32 minutes in, a left-footed finish from Bryan Mbeumo low across goal. PSG’s 16-year-old left back Axel Koukaba had gifted possession to Amad Diallo in a dangerous area, an unfortunate blow to the youngster’s confidence.

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Mbeumo had other chances in the first half—including Matvey Safonov clawing away a free kick destined for the top corner—and United ultimately went into the break having outgunned PSG in shots, shots on target and touches in the opposition box.

Mbeumo tested Safonov again once the match resumed after the interval, with United continuing to put pressure on the French giant after that early sucker punch.

The Russian goalkeeper also denied Harry Maguire, before being substituted himself, and it remained United who seemed more likely to get a winner late on, with attempts from Tyler Fletcher, Shea Lacey and Bruno Fernandes either off-target or blocked.

Need for Third Midfield Signing Still Exists

We heard in press reports this past week that signing a third central midfielder of the summer is no longer a guarantee as senior officials decide how best to use the remaining transfer budget.

One consideration to funnel funds into other positions has been the repurposing of Mason Mount into a more conventional central midfielder than his typical No. 10 or wide forward roles, which is something Carrick had already been experimenting with this summer.

Mount had impressed in that deeper position in previous friendly matches. But the key caveat to being a genuine option for the position is staying healthy, with a lack of availability the biggest letdown for the former Chelsea star over the past three years.

It was a concern to then see Mount withdrawn after only 20 minutes, appearing to signal discomfort in his foot. He was able to run off the pitch and chatted briefly with medical staff, before heading towards the locker room. There didn’t appear to be a huge problem, but it was enough for Mount, Carrick and the staff to exercise caution given his injury history. The boss clarified soon after the final whistle: “We just wanted to be careful and look after him.”

It doesn’t particularly matter that it’s Mount, but one injury to anyone in midfield still potentially leaves United too light. Given how things have unfolded, it would be a risk not to further strengthen.

Bruno Fernandes Returns

Following Portugal’s run to the World Cup round of 16, this was Bruno Fernandes’s first outing of preseason. The United captain, who set a new Premier League single season assist record in 2025–26, was part of a quintuple substitution made by Carrick on 64 minutes.

Those changes also handed Youri Tielemans an unofficial ‘debut’ after his post-World Cup vacation and a first week of training with his new team.

Fullbacks Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui were the others in red making their first post-World Cup appearances. Meanwhile, PSG handed game time off the bench in a similar vein in the second half to Marquinhos, Vitinha, João Neves and Nuno Mendes.

United didn’t have Matheus Cunha, who has been ill in recent days. He is set to join up with the squad in Ireland—where the team face Leeds United on Wednesday—for the next leg of this northern European tour. Benjamin Šeško is also expected then, having missed all of the preseason games so far to work on his fitness back at base in Manchester.

Goalkeeper Situation Taking Time to Warm Up

Fourth choice Dermot Mee played most of the second half. | Ash Donelon/Manchester United/Getty Images

Of every position, goalkeeper is still the furthest from how it will look when the Premier League season starts away at Hull City just two weeks from now.

Veteran third choice Tom Heaton started between the posts for the third time in four matches this summer. The 40-year-old was sharing responsibilities with Radek Vítek until a few days ago when the Czech talent joined Middlesbrough in a permanent transfer.

Heaton made an excellent double save in the first half but wound up getting injured a few minutes into the second half and was replaced by Dermot Mee.

Vítek’s place in the squad here went to 18-year-old Fred Heath, with United still missing Senne Lammens and new understudy Karl Darlow—first and second choice respectively.

Lammens was intended to be back following his post-World Cup rest, with Belgium teammate Tielemans involved. But a minor bout of illness served to delay his return. The Premier League’s Signing of the Season award winner will instead meet the squad in Ireland.

It remains to be seen if Lammens will be ready to play on Wednesday so soon after resuming training and how serious Heaton’s injury might be. It could well be that Mee actually gets another—unexpected—chance against Leeds.

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