‘We always believed, that’s the thing’
Manchester United’s interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his side “always believed” they could comeback and win their Uefa Champions League clash in Paris.
Marcus Rashford’s dramatic stoppage-time penalty gave them a stunning 3-1 win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as they improbably reached the quarter-finals on away goals.
A seriously depleted United looked to have given themselves too much to do after losing 2-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie last month, yet a Romelu Lukaku double in the first half at the Parc des Princes gave them hope.
Even so, Juan Bernat had netted in between for PSG, and it looked as though the French side would stumble on until the drama at the death.
Slovenian referee Damir Skomina awarded a spot-kick after reviewing the images when he had been alerted of a possible handball by PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe in the box.
Rashford duly beat Gianluigi Buffon from 12 yards, as United won a European tie after losing the first leg at home for the first time in their history.
“We always believed, that’s the thing,” an elated Solskjaer said. “The plan was to get the first goal, be in the game with five or 10 minutes to go, and we were.”
Their improbable victory takes United through to the last eight for the first time since 2014.
While United celebrate, for PSG this defeat will feel like groundhog day.
For the third year running they failed to make the quarter-finals, after their defeat at the hands of Real Madrid a year ago and their humiliating collapse against Barcelona in 2017.
“If it were a league game you would wipe your mouth and go on, but today it’s horrible and cruel,” manager Thomas Tuchel said. “It happens once in 100 games. We did not deserve to go out over 180 minutes.”
However, the German refused to say the officials had got the late penalty call wrong.
“I think it’s a 50-50 decision. What makes it super hard is that I had the clear feeling that the shot was not on target.”
PSG’s injured Brazilian attacker Neymar said: “It’s a disgrace. They get four guys who don’t understand football to watch a slow-motion replay in front of the TV.”