20 years on, Solskjaer hopes for another Camp Nou comeback
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows all about overturning Champions League deficits at the Camp Nou.
Twenty years after scoring a last-gasp winner there for Manchester United in the final against Bayern Munich, Solskjaer will be back in Barcelona’s stadium today looking to mastermind an unlikely comeback for the English team from the touchline.
United arguably has the toughest task of the eight quarterfinalists heading into the second legs this week, having lost 1-0 to Lionel Messi’s Barcelona at Old Trafford.
Yet that was the score line facing United in 1999 after Mario Basler put Bayern in front in the sixth minute in what proved to be one of the most dramatic soccer matches in a generation.
United engineered the turnaround with two goals in injury time — the first from Teddy Sheringham, and the second from Solskjaer with one of the last kicks of the game.
During his four months as United manager, the former Norway striker has made a point of reminiscing about the old days at the club, when no deficit felt insurmountable. Comebacks and late goals were a regular thing under his then-manager and mentor, Alex Ferguson.
So it didn’t come as a surprise that, straight after the first leg, Solskjaer was buoyant about United’s chances of advancing, saying with that 1999 final no doubt in mind: “We’ve scored goals at the Nou Camp before from corners and crosses ... we can do it, no doubt about it.”
United has beaten Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain away in this season’s Champions League, but Solskjaer said getting past Barcelona would be a “greater achievement.”
Not helping United’s cause is the six-day turnaround between the games. While Barcelona fielded a reserve side in its Spanish league match on Saturday, Solskjaer couldn’t afford to rest too many of his first-team players for the match against West Ham in the Premier League the same day. United is still fighting to finish in the top four, while Barcelona is close to wrapping up another Spanish league title.
But there is one bizarre statistic that will be giving United fans hope as they make their way to Spain.
Messi, to many the greatest soccer player ever, hasn’t scored in his last 12 games at the quarterfinal stage – stretching back to 2013.
JUVENTUS-AJAX (1-1 on aggregate)
Juventus had the luxury of resting most of its regular players at the weekend. Ajax didn’t, and may have paid a costly price.
For the 2-1 loss at Spal in Serie A on Saturday, Juventus had just two players in its starting lineup that began the 1-1 draw in Amsterdam. Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t even on the bench.
Ahead of today’s game, Ajax had nine of its starting XI from the first leg in the 6-2 victory over Excelsior. One of them, star midfielder Frenkie de Jong, limped off with a hamstring problem in the first half.
Ronaldo was rested before the second leg of the round of 16. He scored a hat trick against Atletico Madrid to see Juventus overturn a first-leg deficit.