Let’s pull off another miracle! 20 years after THAT comeback in Turin, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plots dream win over PSG in Champions League
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side looked like Manchester United of old on Saturday
- Team came back to beat Southampton 3-2 and will look to carry momentum
- PSG are 2-0 goals up in Champions League tie ahead of game in Paris
- Solskjaer wants to invoke spirit of Turin to overturn two goal deficit
Encouraged by another old school win at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is hoping Manchester United can turn back the clock again in Paris on Wednesday night.
Next month, it will be 20 years since United somehow recovered from a two-goal deficit away to Juventus to reach the Champions League final.
The rest of that story and Solskjaer’s part in it is history, of course.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to invoke memories of the comeback in Turin 20 years ago
United famously came back from two goals down to go through against Juventus
Two decades on, he is plotting another great escape for United —one that has been made all the more improbable by a lengthening injury list and the absence of Paul Pogba through suspension.
Depleted United must overturn a 2-0 first-leg defeat at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain — Solskjaer’s only reverse in 16 games as caretaker boss — to reach the quarter-finals.
The Norwegian knows the odds are against him but will draw on the spirit of Turin in an attempt to pull off his greatest win yet as manager.
‘I have to say that we really felt invincible,’ said Solskjaer of Sir Alex Ferguson’s team. ‘The belief is here now. Our players know what we are capable of and we have spoken about it.
United fought back and will need to do the same against Paris in the Champions League
‘They know that they are part of a special club that can do something like this. We are not going to go there and lay down. We are going to give it a go.’
Recalling that famous night at the Stadio delle Alpi, he added: ‘Juventus scored two to go 2-0 up in the first 10 minutes and suddenly you think you’re out.
‘But as soon as we got that one goal away from home, we were in the ascendancy. When we got the score to 2-2, suddenly we were through and they had to panic.
‘So that’s it for us. We have to get goals in the game. If we get an early one, then suddenly we’re in with a shout. We know it is going to be difficult and we’ve got loads of injuries, but there are a few boys who will want to be part of it.’
Solskjaer confirmed he does not expect any of United’s absentees to return in time.
The knee-ligament injury sustained by Alexis Sanchez against Southampton took the total out to 10, and the manager is reluctant to risk Anthony Martial before United go to Arsenal on Sunday looking to consolidate their place in the top four. Unless Solskjaer is bluffing, his midfield diamond at the Parc des Princes could feasibly be Scott McTominay, Fred, Diogo Dalot and Andreas Pereira.
Andreas Pereira scored for United in their 3-2 comeback victory over Southampton
At least United go into the game buoyed by another stirring display under their interim manager. Southampton played their part in a terrific match and scored spectacular goals through Yan Valery and James Ward-Prowse.
But it is symptomatic of the new order under Solskjaer that Pereira and Romelu Lukaku, two players who have been criticised more than most, led the fightback.
Pereira’s first Premier League goal was a pearler and Lukaku’s dramatic 88th-minute winner meant he had scored twice for the second time in four days.
‘He has responded fantastically to everyone who wants to criticise him, because there is no one who practises finishing as much as he does,’ said Solskjaer.
Despite having a late spot-kick saved by Angus Gunn, Pogba has his manager’s backing to remain as United’s first-choice penalty taker. Just not in Paris on Wednesday.
