PARIS • This was the Manchester United of old, the United of Alex Ferguson, fighting till the final whistle and never giving up.
This was the United of their glory days, playing with steel, with youth, and winning in Fergie time.
Never before had a 2-0 home first-leg deficit been overturned in the Champions League, but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men "always believed".
Against all odds, against all possession counts - Paris Saint-Germain had 82 per cent of the ball - United had dared to dream and, despite all their absences, had too much heart for the French champions on Wednesday night.
Romelu Lukaku twice capitalised on critical errors by PSG's backline before "fearless" Marcus Rashford converted his added-time penalty, his first for the club, as the Red Devils triumphed on away goals after a 3-1 victory in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Afterwards, the Norwegian revealed he always felt the comeback was on the cards, before admitting it was "special", saying: "Football - that's what it gives you. 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 five or 10 minutes to go, and we were. The dressing room was unbelievable, just to see the club together with the owners, ex-managers, ex-players."
While United were fortunate at times, with Thomas Meunier and Juan Bernat - who got PSG's goal on the night - both striking the woodwork, the rash of injuries and Paul Pogba's suspension meant that Solskjaer's "fresh team" had "loads of energy" to soak up the pressure at the Parc des Princes.
1stÂ
Marcus Rashford's penalty was the first he has ever taken for Manchester United in a competitive match.
He added: "It's this club. It's what we do, that's Man United, that's the Champions League. 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."
And, having made the quarter-finals for the first time since 2014, Solskjaer sees no reason why United cannot "go all the way" and claim their fourth European Cup after a record-extending nine consecutive away wins.
The caretaker manager said: "Of course we fancy ourselves, but we just have to wait for the draw (next Friday) and then take the game as it comes."
After Rashford's winner, which sparked scenes of delirium among the away fans, including Ferguson, Pogba and former United greats Patrice Evra and Eric Cantona, as well as on social media, United's players renewed calls for Solskjaer to be given the job full time.
Lukaku posed a question to reporters, asking, "What else does he have to do?", while Luke Shaw said: "I don't think I need to say much after all these results, it looks certain. We all love Ole and we love the job he's done so far... We've got so much more to look forward to."
Fellow full-back Ashley Young agreed, saying: "If you look from the outside, you'd say, 'Why not?'. He's been fantastic since he's come in, a breath of fresh air."
While United marched on, PSG were left to rue another Groundhog Day exit in Europe, with the club again failing to progress beyond the last eight since the Qatari takeover in 2011 despite the hundreds of millions spent in a bid to win their maiden European Cup.
However, club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi was adamant there would be no knee-jerk reaction to fire manager Thomas Tuchel.
Insisting the club would "make decisions with a cool head", he told French daily L'Equipe: "I trust the coach... it's not because we lose a match that we have to act now... this is not the moment."
Neymar was in no mood to offer a measured perspective of the defeat. Lashing out at the video assistant referee system on Instagram after Rashford's spot kick, the Brazil forward, who was injured for both legs, called the decision a "disgrace".
In the other tie, Porto's 3-1 home win over Roma sent them through to the next round 4-3 on aggregate.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN, THE TIMES, LONDON
I do agree and have said so in many posts, the lack of control over the games is a major cause of our defensive problems. But even after that, individually the back line is not good enough. 1 vs 1, playing from the back, tracking runners, tackling the ball off the opp or generally dealing with technical players…etc All are glaring problems.
Starship Gunner - A free Action Game - Games at Miniclip.com
Neymar "cried for two days" after injuring his right foot for a second time in January, he told Brazilian television according to an excerpt of an interview broadcast on Tuesday. The 27-year-old
Neymar 'cried for two days' after new foot injury | Macau
Home » News » Sports » Benzema saves Real Madrid blushes with late Huesca winner Benzema saves Real Madrid blushes with late Huesca winner On April 1, 2019 12:37 pm In Sports by Emmanuel Okogba
Karim Benzema saves Real Madrid blushes with late Huesca
Nurmagomedov and McGregor both left the ring before the championship belt could be put around Nurmagomedov's waist, and fans in the pro-Conor crowd threw beers and debris at Nurmagomedov on his way out. White said he feared a melee in an arena if he awarded the belt to Nurmagomedov. "I don't even know what to say right now," White said.
Killua Zoldyck | Hunterpedia | FANDOM powered by Wikia
To this end, Dudley has turned the theatre into a gigantic aviary. This gloomy Greek earns little of our sympathy. Kourtney Kardashian wears all-black to Sunday Service where son Reign and
Daylight Dies - Lost to the Living Review - Thrashpit.com
A fourth straight league loss for Huddersfield's new manager Jan Siewert left the Terriers stranded six points behind Fulham and 14 adrift of 17th-placed Cardiff City as Newcastle, with a third straight home win under Rafa Benitez, moved up to 14th. Almiron, making his first start for Newcastle after his club record 20 million-pound ($26.1
VIDEO Newcastle United 2 - 0 Huddersfield (Premier League
Football: Spurs star Kane out until March with ankle injury. Kane sustained the injury to his left ankle in the closing moments of the 1-0 loss at Wembley and scans have now confirmed the
Spurs star Kane out until March with ankle injury | The
Football news - Atletico title bid suffers with defeat at Betis in Morata debut Alvaro Morata made his debut for Atletico after Canales' spot-kick was too powerful and inflicted a first
Football: Atletico title bid suffers with defeat at Betis in
Serie A champions Juventus deny approaching Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola for coaching job. Firstpost - Agence France-Presse. Rome: Juventus on Sunday poured cold water over rumours in Italy that they were planning a dramatic pounce for Pep Guardiola, saying that they had …
Football: Atletico the greatest threat to Barca's La Liga
Cardiff City's Kenneth Zohore struck deep into stoppage time to secure a crucial 2-1 win on Saturday away to fellow Premier League strugglers Southampton, who thought they had snatched a point with a 91st-minute leveller.
Eden Hazard marks milestone with early goal to help Belgium win Michy Batshuayi got the other goal for the top team in the FIFA rankings, who began their campaign last Thursday with a 3-1 home
Hazard marks milestone with early goal to help Belgium win
Klopp Unconcerned With Firmino's Dry Spell. New, 2 comments. Currently, he's in the midst of a dry spell, having scored only once in his last nine matches.
Klopp unconcerned by Salah's dry spell - SA Breaking News
We all have, or have had, people in our lives we think we know. People that we trust, that we put our faith in. People we've invested time and emotion into, who make us feel safe and comforted and cared for. These people are our lifelines and connections in a vast world of disinterest.
David Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue unveiled The statue, a first for an MLS player, honours the former England captain who was the first big European name to join the league, boosting its popularity and paving the way for other global stars to make the leap.
Beckham salutes LA Galaxy and Los Angeles as statue unveiled
0 comments:
Post a Comment