Solskjaer’s rallying call in search of a miracle

OLE GUNNAR solskjaer has told his Manchester United players that ‘anything can happen in football at any time’ as he tries to perform another Champions League miracle against Barcelona at the Nou Camp tonight. solskjaer returns to the scene of his greatest triumph needing to beat the Catalans on their own turf to take United in to the semi-finals. The 46-year-old hopes the memory of United’s stunning comeback against Bayern Munich in the 1999 final, when he and Teddy sheringham scored injury-time goals from David Beckham set-pieces, can inspire his team to scale similar heights against Lionel Messi and Co. ‘I was a player back then, but in football anything can happen at any time,’ said solskjaer. ‘We can still be in this tie in the 93rd minute. We can get a set-piece and we are physically taller than them. ‘We have to use set-pieces and qualities in our team. We have to use it better than last week. ‘We need to score and I don’t mind if it’s in the 93rd minute. ‘If we get to injury time we are a fit team. ‘Physically we’re ready. We can deal with that and I expect my players to be ready. You mobilise. ‘You’re going to play at the Nou Camp against a fantastic team and I know they’re going to play

until the cramp takes them.’ United lost 1-0 to Luke Shaw’s own goal in the first leg against Barcelona at Old Trafford and Solskjaer acknowledged that his team needs to sharpen up in attack. In last week’s defeat, they failed to register a single shot on target for the first time since Opta stats began in 2005. Asked why his team’s scoring has dropped off in recent games, he said: ‘That’s the $100million question. ‘Who can score them? That’s why the best strikers are the most expensive ones. We had a couple of decent chances but when you can’t work the goalkeeper you can’t score. We know we’ll create chances. We have a goal threat. It’s about taking a deep breath and taking those chances. ‘We need to score goals and if it’s Romelu Lukaku, Jesse Lingard, Alexis Sanchez or Marcus Rashford, we need big performances. ‘We have to defend well and have that little bit extra to score goals against teams like this. Whoever starts tomorrow, when they’re on the pitch we want to see some good form. We weren’t good enough against them.’