‘OUTSTANDING’ KID
v OLE gUnnar SOLSKJaEr last night warned Paris Saintgermain that Manchester United can now beat anyone.
As Solskjaer looked forward to his first Champions League game as United manager, the man who forged his legend by scoring the goal that won the European Cup 20 years ago told the French giants that they are meeting an in-form team with the weight of history behind them.
And he called on his young England striker Marcus Rashford to prove that he can be every bit as lethal as World Cup-winning wonder kid Kylian Mbappe.
United will welcome PSG to Old Trafford on Tuesday night as underdogs in the last-16 tie.
But Solskjaer insisted: “Anything is possible. PSG are not used to losing and we are playing a team with top quality players, so we will have to perform at our best. But after 11 games as manager, I am now prepared for this. I’m not going in cold.
“The players now know what I want and we know what we’re capable of – and we are very confident.
“Tradition and history will always be mentioned, but at the moment we are performing well and hopefully after this round teams and supporters can talk about us as a challenger.
“It will be a fantastic night – Old Trafford, the Champions League, under the floodlights, the crowd. And it will be a new experience for PSG as well.
“They’ve played in England. They’ve been to Anfield, but they haven’t been to
Old Trafford, have they?
“When th e draw was
v made, PSG were the favourites. And we are still the underdogs. “But at the moment, we can beat anyone.”
PSG will be without injured Brazilian superstar Neymar for both games.
But they will have 20-year-old Mbappe leading their attack – and the France forward has already scored 23 goals for club and country this season. Solskjaer, who rested Rashford ( left) from the 3-0 victory at Fulham yesterday, called on his man to prove that comparisons to Mbappe are valid. He said: “Understandably there will be comparisons between Rashford and Mbappe.
“I have only seen Mbappe live once. I see Marcus every single day and he’s going to be a top quality player.
“I love working with him and I am sure PSG will look at Marcus the way we look at Mbappe.
“The pair of them will have a massive impression on football for the next 10 years. They will really light it up.
“Neymar is very, very good and our fans would have loved to see him and the players would have loved to have played against him,” added Solskjaer.
“One of the things I remember is playing against the best players, like Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Paolo Maldini. You looked forward to testing yourself against the best.
“Unfortunately, Neymar is not going to be there, but don’t forget Mbappe, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria.
“Two or three days before I got the job the draw was made. I was watching it with my son and we both thought, ‘ What a challenge’.
“Then, the next thing, I was in this challenge. It’s my challenge.
“We have been looking forward to it for a long time. That’s how it is at United.”
Second leg: Wednesday, March 6 Manchester City in 2017 with no senior experience to his name, Londoner Sancho comes back home just under 18 months later as one of the most exciting and talked-about youngsters in world football.
The winger has enjoyed a rapid rise in Germany since his £10million switch, taking the Bundesliga by storm with a string of dazzling displays, goals and assists including eight and 12 respectively this season, adding number eight against Hoffenheim yesterday. And Borussia Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc said: “I’m not surprised about his performances.
“I’m surprised how fast he managed to get on this senior level because, before that, he only played in youth teams.
“And also his stability in performing well. During last autumn he nearly played each game and always at a high level.
“For this age he can still play in our Under-19 team! He’s still a youth player in our terms – that’s unbelievable. He’s very robust,