Champions League: Manchester United complete stunning comeback to shatter PSG

The result came 20 years after Solskjaer wrote his name into the club’s folklore by scoring the injury-time winner in the final victory over Bayern Munich to complete the treble of Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

MU vs PSG: Manchester United’s Romelu Lukaku celebrates alongside David de Gea and Victor Lindelof at the end of the match. (Reuters)

Now back as caretaker manager after the dismissal of Jose Mourinho, the Norwegian has overseen a remarkable turnaround as United have won 14 of 17 games in all competitions and hauled themselves back into the top-four battle in the Premier League.

Progress in Europe looked a step too far, though, after United were outplayed by PSG at Old Trafford and arrived in Paris short of a host of key players through suspension and injury.

However, with Alex Ferguson watching proudly from the stands, Solskjaer’s team achieved what no other has managed in the competition – as well as making himself the shortest of odds to fill the biggest seat in English football on a permanent basis at the end of the season.

“It’s this club. It’s what we do, that’s Man United, that’s the Champions League, it’s what it does.”” said Solskjaer, who was managing Norwegian club Molde before getting the call to replace Mourinho in December.

MU vs PSG: Paris St Germain’s Kylian Mbappe looks dejected as Manchester United’s David de Gea is embraced by Paris St Germain’s Edinson Cavani after the match. (Reuters)

“It’s a typical Manchester United night. We had a game plan and the belief in the boys was what we hoped for. Everyone shares a huge pride. The players were focused, they listened to all the instructions and they knew that we had to defend well. There was a lot of quality.”

While United march on, PSG are left to wonder how, yet again, they have failed in Europe despite spending millions to put together a team that crushes all domestic opposition.

They had lost only two of their last 50 European games at the Parc des Princes but have still yet to reach even the semi-finals of the Champions League.

“The plan was to get the first goal, be in the game with 10 minutes to go,” Solskjaer said and he could not have scripted it any better as Romelu Lukaku intercepted a weak back pass from Thilo Kehrer, rounded Gianluigi Buffon and slid the ball into the empty net after two minutes.

NO SURPRISE

PSG dominated possession, though, and with United’s defence all over the place, it was no surprise when Juan Bernat knocked in Kylian Mbappe’s cross to level after 12 minutes. The hosts continued to control the game but United took the advantage again with their next chance when Buffon failed to deal with a fierce, low Rashford shot and Lukaku poked home the rebound late in the first half.

PSG, with injured Brazil striker Neymar watching from the stands, had all the ball in the second half without ever looking very threatening and seemingly settling for their 3-2 aggregate lead, while United were disciplined and tireless in defence.

Manchester United’s Diogo Dalot celebrates after the match. (Source: Reuters)

The visitors started to press forward in the final 10 minutes, with little joy, until Diogo Dalot fired in a speculative long-range shot that was blocked by the leaping Presnel Kimpembe. Nobody except Dalot seemed to notice the handball but the referee called for a review and pictures showed that the ball hit the back of Kimpembe’s arm as he jumped.

Alter a lengthy wait, the penalty was awarded.

England striker Rashford, who had never taken a penalty in a competitive game for United, kept his nerve during the long delay to smash it past Buffon.

PSG desperately pushed for the goal that would have sent them through in a further four minutes of play but United held firm and celebrated wildly with their fans when the whistle sounded.

In contrast, the stunned home players sunk to the ground in disbelief at a near-silent stadium.

“It is very hard to lose, very hard to accept,” said PSG coach Thomas Tuchel, the latest to fail to deliver the European glory the club’s Qatari owners have invested so much to achieve. “If you lose a game like this it’s horrible and cruel because we did not deserve to go out after those 180 minutes.”

We always believed, says United boss Solskjaer

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his team always believed they could pull off a remarkable comeback against Paris St Germain to reach the Champions League quarter-finals. United lost the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford but beat the French champions 3-1 in Paris on Wednesday to progress to the last eight on away goals.

“We always believed, that’s the thing,” Solskjaer told reporters. “We set out the plan and it wasn’t about the ball. “The plan was to get the first goal, be in the game with 10 minutes to go,” he added.

Romelu Lukaku put United ahead after two minutes and although PSG equalised, the Belgian grabbed his second before halftime and Marcus Rashford’s stoppage-time penalty sealed a famous win. It continued United’s remarkable transformation since Solskjaer took over as interim manager from Jose Mourinho in December and the Norwegian looks increasingly likely to get the job on a permanent basis.

Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer celebrates after the match. (Reuters)

“It’s been a fantastic time with the players and staff I got working with me. I’m going to enjoy this job as long as I have it, I’m gonna smile,” Solskjaer said. “I’m going to do the job as well as I can.”

That United were without several first-choice players due to injury and suspension, including France midfielder Paul Pogba, made the victory even more surprising. “The fact we had injuries and suspensions maybe it was a good thing today because we had a fresh team,” Solskjaer said.

Rashford held his nerve under intense pressure to convert his first penalty in a competitive match for United. “Just keep a cool head, you know. They’re the type of things you practise every day. I wanted to take it … we got the goal, and we’re progressing,” Rashford said.

“That’s probably the hardest thing, the wait before, (but) it’s all part of the game, those moments, you want to get through those moments,” he added. “Everything seemed to be against us, but we’re used to surviving in these moments, and today just proved that one more time. We go forward from this game now, but we can still improve of course, keep pushing and keep bettering ourselves,” Rashford added.

Solskjaer, for one, was not surprised how cool the 21-year-old England striker had been under pressure. “Absolutely fantastic, the kid has got no doubts, when you’re young you don’t have any fear,” he said.

PSG coach Tuchel bemused by ‘cruel’ Champions League exit

Paris St Germain coach Thomas Tuchel was left completely bemused after his side lost 3-1 at home to Manchester United on Wednesday to exit the Champions League on away goals. The French champions held what looked like an unassailable 2-0 lead from the first leg of the last 16 tie at Old Trafford but Romelu Lukaku’s early goal for United set the alarm bells ringing.

They still would have gone through despite trailing 2-1 with time running out but Marcus Rashford’s last-gasp penalty secured a third away goal for United and condemned big-spending PSG to another shattering defeat in Europe’s premier club competition. Tuchel was asked whether his players had struggled to cope with the intense pressure of the situation.

“I can’t say yes, but I can’t say no, because we showed a very good reaction after the first goal to United,” he told reporters. “We reacted well and played very well in the first 30 minutes with a lot of chances.

Paris St Germain coach Thomas Tuchel reacts. (Reuters)

“We had opportunities for a second or third goal but we did not convert them. After that the second goal changed the whole situation because Man United had no chance to score, but they netted twice. And with another United goal we were out.

“They had three goals without attacking, without creating a chance. It’s hard, maybe impossible to analyse this.” The defeat revived memories of PSG’s meltdown against Barcelona two years ago when they won the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie 4-0 in Paris but lost 6-1 in Spain to exit the competition.

“We should not fall into this trap of comparing with Barca to make our brains happy,” Tuchel said. “The problem is the way we started today, but we showed excellent reaction, we were not concerned, we dominated the opponents, we had a lot of chances. At 1-1 we felt confident in the way we played. It is very hard to lose, very hard to accept.

“If you lose a game like this, it’s horrible and cruel because we did not deserve to go out after those 180 minutes.” To make the loss even harder to swallow, the penalty Rashford scored was awarded for handball after a lengthy review by the Video Assistant Referee.

“I’m a big supporter of VAR and I stay a big supporter of it,” Tuchel said. “From my point of view when (Diogo) Dalot took the shot, for me it was clear it was going over the bar and I was surprised it was a corner,” the German added.

“With handball it’s super difficult, there are too many points of view. You’ll always have people who say yes, and others who say no. For me the shot was not on target and to get a reward in the form of a penalty it’s a tough decision.”

We can still improve, says Rashford after United late show

Penalty hero Marcus Rashford completed a stunning smash-and-grab raid for Manchester United, netting in stoppage-time to seal a 3-1 victory over Paris St Germain on Wednesday and send the English side into the Champions League last eight on away goals.

United became the first team to turn round a 2-0 home deficit in the knockout stages of the competition and Rashford held his nerve to convert the first penalty he had ever taken for the Premier League club. “Just keep a cool head, you know. They’re the type of things you practise every day. I wanted to take it … we got the goal, and we’re progressing,” Rashford told BT Sport.

Marcus Rashford, left, celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal. (Source: AP)

“That’s probably the hardest thing, the wait before, (but) it’s all part of the game, those moments, you want to get through those moments,” he added. Rashford’s strike partner Romelu Lukaku scored two first-half goals to give United the chance to go through, and the Belgian international said their burgeoning partnership was one of the keys to victory.

“We were confident the day before the game. Me and Marcus, we knew that we could have done the business today and today we played up front together, it was a pleasure to play with him, and we both scored, so we’re happy,” Lukaku said. Having seen their fortunes soar since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over as manager from Jose Mourinho in December, Rashford said United can still get better.

“Everything seemed to be against us, but we’re used to surviving in these moments, and today just proved that one more time. We go forward from this game now, but we can still improve of course, keep pushing and keep bettering ourselves,” Rashford said.