Manchester United need to avoid defeat in their final group game if they are to avoid crashing out of the Champions League after losing 3-1 to Paris Saint-Germain.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side could have sealed passage to the knockout stages by beating the French champions on Wednesday evening as they did in Paris back in October.
However, they were beaten in ultimately comfortable fashion after going down to 10 men on an evening to forget at Old Trafford.
PSG made the brighter start of the two sides and had their reward in just the sixth minute as Neymar followed in a deflected Kylian Mbappe shot to finish well from a tight angle.
Things could have got even worse for the hosts soon after had the referee not surprisingly shown Fred a yellow card for a headbutt on Leandro Paredes after reviewing the incident through VAR.
And United made the most of the let-off, Marcus Rashford diverting a shot in off Danilo Pereira to level things up before the break.
Buoyed by that goals, the hosts started the second half in fine fettle, Anthony Martial blasting a gilt-edged chance over the bar from close range before Edison Cavani struck the woodwork with a delightful chip.
Yet they never looked fully settled defensively, and were punished when Marquinhos turned the ball home after pinball from a corner.
That setback was compounded when Fred, perhaps still fortunate to be on the pitch, received a second yellow for a challenge which replays showed won him the ball.
PSG rarely looked threatened from there and added a third through Neymar at the death to secure a victory that means they must beat Istanbul Basaksehir on the final day to ensure their progress.
Substitute in, Idrissa Gana Guèye.
Substitute out, Abdou Diallo.
Assist given by Rafinha.
Goal by Neymar Jr.
Substitute in, Odion Ighalo.
Substitute out, Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Substitute in, Rafinha.
Substitute in, Thilo Kehrer.
Substitute out, Marco Verratti.
Substitute out, Alessandro Florenzi.
Substitute in, Donny van de Beek.
Substitute in, Mason Greenwood.
Substitute out, Edinson Cavani.
Substitute out, Anthony Martial.
Substitute in, Paul Pogba.
Substitute out, Marcus Rashford.
Red card for Fred.
Assist given by Abdou Diallo.
Goal by Marquinhos.
Substitute in, Ander Herrera.
Substitute in, Mitchel Bakker.
Substitute out, Leandro Paredes.
Substitute out, Moise Kean.
Yellow card for Marco Verratti.
Yellow card for Leandro Paredes.
Assist given by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Goal by Marcus Rashford.
Yellow card for Fred.
Goal by Neymar Jr.