Thomas Tuchel Says He Was Surprised by Angel Di Maria's Old Trafford Reception

Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel has said he was surprised by the hostile reception former Manchester United player Angel Di Maria received at Old Trafford on Tuesday. 

Di Maria was jeered throughout the UEFA Champions League showdown, which the visitors won 2-0 thanks to goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe; the Argentina international set up both.

A bottle was thrown at him in the second half as he prepared to take a corner, and Tuchel said after the game he was surprised by how hostile the Red Devils supporters were towards the club's former record signing, per Peter Hanson of Goal:

"I thought he had a good relationship with the fans. He was a bit nervous and needed to be calmer in the first half. In the end, he did well.

"I'm happy that he stayed confident. I'm happy that he stayed always like this, super reliable because he's always working hard. He always gives his best and for that, it's easy to forgive him when he has not such a good first half, for us."

Di Maria spent one season at Old Trafford in the 2014-15 campaign, having arrived from Real Madrid amid much fanfare. However, after struggling for consistency in a red shirt he moved on to PSG at the end of the campaign.

While the Parisians have spent big on the likes of Mbappe and Neymar since, Di Maria has remained a valuable part of the squad and showed what he's capable of on Tuesday with two excellent assists.

As relayed by football journalist Mootaz Chehade, the 30-year-old was subject to some rough treatment in the first period:

However, he didn't seem fazed by the incident with the beer bottle and was happy to dish out some stick back to the United fans when PSG opened the scoring:

Di Maria failed to settle at United and midway through his first season his Cheshire home was targeted by burglars.

While there was never any real doubt over the ability he possesses, at times the former Real Madrid and Benfica man was questioned for his lack of application by supporters. Having spent £59.7 million to bring him to the club, it's clear the fans wanted to see a lot more from the winger.

Even so, Bleacher Report's Rob Blanchette said the treatment of the player on Tuesday went too far:

In the end, Di Maria got the last laugh, as his contribution was key for PSG on a night they were missing two of their star attackers in Edinson Cavani and Neymar.

United now face a massive challenge to overturn the 2-0 deficit. Not only is the Parc des Princes a challenging place to go, they will have to go there and win without Paul Pogba, who was given his marching orders late in the first leg.