XtraTime Web Desk: Manchester United did what Manchester United is known to do as PSG’s Champions League run got ended in early heartbreak again, while Man United’s magic touch is back.
PSG failed to put away Manchester United with its mounds of chances, gifted the Red Devils a pair of goals and then watched as a VAR controversy gave the visitors a decisive stoppage-time penalty, with Marcus Rashford’s kick sending the English side to the quarterfinals on the away goal tiebreaker after a 3-3 aggregate draw. Romelu Lukaku scored twice, sandwiching a Juan Bernat goal, and PSG couldn’t find the insurance strike it needed, having an apparent one from Angel Di Maria wiped off the board after a correct review. That set the stage for the controversial moment, when Presnel Kimpembe was whistled, after a review, for a handball on a speculative Diogo Dalot shot from distance.
PSG carried a 2-0 aggregate lead into the home leg, and Manchester United was decimated by absences. Paul Pogba was out suspended, while Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia were among 10 senior players unavailable for the trip. As a result, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer included five untested teenagers on the squad in hopes of a miracle comeback.
Man United got off to a dream start by slicing into the deficit two minutes in. Thilo Kehrer hit a careless back pass across his own area, and Lukaku pounced. The Belgian forward rounded Gianluigi Buffon before finishing into an empty net to make it 1-0 on the day to United and reducing the aggregate deficit to 2-1.
The goal for PSG came soon enough, though. It was Mbappe returning the favor for Bernat, running onto a ball in behind and crossing to the back post, where an unmarked Bernat touched home the final ball to make it 1-1 on the day and 3-1 on aggregate.
PSG continued to boss the game but also continued to gift Man United openings. The next one came on the half-hour mark, when Rashford dumped a speculative shot from distance on goal. Buffon made the save, but he spilled the rebound, allowing Lukaku to tap in his second of the day. The goal made it 2-1 on the day to Man United and reduced PSG’s aggregate edge to 3-2. The goal was key as it leveled the away goals between the two, meaning one more from United (without conceding) would send the English side through.
PSG’s failure to put the game away came back to haunt the hosts. Dalot’s shot from distance was put out for a corner by a leaping Kimpembe. On first glance, it looked innocuous, but with his back to the shot, the ball hit off Kimpembe’s elbow. After a VAR review, a penalty was controversially given, and Rashford buried the kick from the spot, evening the aggregate and putting Man United through via the away goal tiebreaker.
The dramatic scenes after the final whistle were enough to tell how it meant to turn the apparently impossible thing possible. Manchester United did what Manchester United is known to do as PSG’s Champions League run got ended in early heartbreak again, while Man United’s magic touch is back.
PSG failed to put away Manchester United with its mounds of chances, gifted the Red Devils a pair of goals and then watched as a VAR controversy gave the visitors a decisive stoppage-time penalty, with Marcus Rashford’s kick sending the English side to the quarterfinals on the away goal tiebreaker after a 3-3 aggregate draw. Romelu Lukaku scored twice, sandwiching a Juan Bernat goal, and PSG couldn’t find the insurance strike it needed, having an apparent one from Angel Di Maria wiped off the board after a correct review. That set the stage for the controversial moment, when Presnel Kimpembe was whistled, after a review, for a handball on a speculative Diogo Dalot shot from distance.
PSG carried a 2-0 aggregate lead into the home leg, and Manchester United was decimated by absences. Paul Pogba was out suspended, while Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard, Juan Mata, Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Antonio Valencia were among 10 senior players unavailable for the trip. As a result, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer included five untested teenagers on the squad in hopes of a miracle comeback.
Man United got off to a dream start by slicing into the deficit two minutes in. Thilo Kehrer hit a careless back pass across his own area, and Lukaku pounced. The Belgian forward rounded Gianluigi Buffon before finishing into an empty net to make it 1-0 on the day to United and reducing the aggregate deficit to 2-1.
The goal for PSG came soon enough, though. It was Mbappe returning the favor for Bernat, running onto a ball in behind and crossing to the back post, where an unmarked Bernat touched home the final ball to make it 1-1 on the day and 3-1 on aggregate.
PSG continued to boss the game but also continued to gift Man United openings. The next one came on the half-hour mark, when Rashford dumped a speculative shot from distance on goal. Buffon made the save, but he spilled the rebound, allowing Lukaku to tap in his second of the day. The goal made it 2-1 on the day to Man United and reduced PSG’s aggregate edge to 3-2. The goal was key as it leveled the away goals between the two, meaning one more from United (without conceding) would send the English side through.
PSG’s failure to put the game away came back to haunt the hosts. Dalot’s shot from distance was put out for a corner by a leaping Kimpembe. On first glance, it looked innocuous, but with his back to the shot, the ball hit off Kimpembe’s elbow. After a VAR review, a penalty was controversially given, and Rashford buried the kick from the spot, evening the aggregate and putting Man United through via the away goal tiebreaker.
The dramatic scenes after the final whistle were enough to tell how it meant to turn the apparently impossible thing possible.