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
Norwich City have been promoted back to the Premier League after a three-year absence, while Sheffield United are on the brink of having their own promotion confirmed. Following their relegation in 2016, it has been somewhat of a stagnant couple of seasons for the Canaries, finishing eighth and 14th respectively.
Sheffield United promoted to Premier League - ProSoccerTalk
Spurs shine to hit Everton for six. Everton's English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford gestures during the English Premier League football match between Everton and
Tottenham shine to hit Everton for six - gulf-times.com
Liverpool staying positive despite blip, says Klopp - Daily
Ayoze Perez heads Newcastle closer to safety in EPL Newcastle United took a huge step towards securing their Premier League survival as Ayoze Perez sealed a 1-0 win against Leicester City on
Perez heads Newcastle closer to Premier League safety | AFP.com
England thrash Montenegro 5-1 after early scare England recovered from an early scare in Montenegro as Ross Barkley scored twice in a clinical 5-1 victory to continue their strong start to the
England thrash Montenegro 5-1 after early scare | Reuters.com
Author Soccernoob Posted on February 15, 2019 February 15, 2019 Categories 2018-19 Isle of Sodor FA news Tags AS Roma, FA, J&S, Junction & Sheds, Knapford Town, Roma, Serie A, Zaniolo Leave a comment on Knapford Town FC's teen midfielder discovers grandma might as well be on Craigslist
Chiesa Di Totti Archives - Roma Youth & Reserves - Page 1
Norwich City secured promotion to the English Premier League after a three-year absence with a 2-1 win at home to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.
Football: Norwich promoted to Premier League after three-year
Reds must rediscover passion: Klopp. derby (on Sunday), which is a very emotional game. "He can have his own opinion," the Norwegian said of Klopp. "We had a good performance, defensively
Brighton's message to Reds fans ahead of the final day
Former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Jermaine Jenas has suggested Hugo Lloris should be dropped for Paulo Gazzaniga against Crystal Palace on Wednesday. Lloris made a costly mistake in the 90th minute against Liverpool on Sunday, resulting in a Toby Alderweireld own goal and consigning Spurs to their fourth defeat in five Premier League outings.
Pundit says Spurs must consider dropping star after Liverpool
Former Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho embarrassingly slipped after presenting a symbolic face-off to a match in Russia's Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) on Monday. Videos of the 56-year-old boss falling on a red carpet on the ice rink in Balashikha appeared on social media after the accident.
Football: Mourinho humiliated by fall at Russian hockey
Football: Bologna earn Serie A survival in six-goal Lazio thriller Bologna's Andrea Poli (left) celebrates with teammate Riccardo Orsolini after scoring his side's first goal against Lazio during
Football: Bologna earn 'miracle' Serie A survival in six-goal
- Katayoun Khosrowyar, head coach of Iran's U19 women's football team, says that the 2019 Kuban Spring Women U19 Tournament is a good warm-up tournament for her team. Defending champions Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Belarus will participate in the competition which will be held in Sochi, Russia from March 1-5. - 3/1/19
In Italy, a Top Club Stands Alone in Supporting Women's
Tottenham Hotspur showed why manager Mauricio Pochettino is a wanted man by thrashing Everton 6-2 at Goodison Park yesterday to close to within six points of Tottenham shine to hit Everton for
Pochettino focused on Spurs success after hitting Everton for
0 comments:
Post a Comment