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About two weeks ago, Paris Saint Germain humbled Manchester United at Old Trafford and handed Ole Gunnar Solksjaer his first loss as The Manchester United manager. Ever since then, United have been counted out by many critics and established pundits as no one could believe if United had it to defeat this dynamic PSG side at Parc des Princes.
Manchester United went to the French capital with a pretty depleted squad as their star men- Anthony Martial, Jesse Lingard and Alexis Sanchez were in the injured list and did not travel with the squad.
The injury woes didn't end there as the midfield trio of Ander Herrera, Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, who have been the spine of this United side under Solksjaer were absent. All three players were not available as Herrera and Matic weren't declared fit and Pogba out to suspension.
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The Norwegian took along a handful of academy players in his quest to overturn the deficit and reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Solksjaer men made history by defeating PSG 1-3 and proceed via away goals to the quarterfinals.
Let's discuss 5 things which proved to be extremely beneficial for Manchester United in their 2nd leg tie against PSG.
#5 Eric Bailly's substitution
United gained an early lead through Romelu Lukaku and cut the deficit to just one goal. On a night like this, the red devils couldn't afford to concede against this vibrant PSG unit but unfortunately, they did as PSG equalised with a Juan Bernat close-range finish.
Up until this point, United's defence was in shambles. the players seemed pretty confused as to what was really happening at the back.
Eric Bailly looked the most vulnerable one at the back and the Ivorian wasn't settled at all. At times he looked all out of sorts and it appeared like the Ivorian will be the most likely one to commit a mistake.
Eric was taken off in the 36th minute in what looked to be a tactical change and this brought on Diego Dalot. The Portuguese was stable, took the ball ahead handsomely and at once even looked like scoring.
Dalot had a tremendous outing and the boy surely made his mark in this emphatic victory for Manchester United over PSG.
Also see : Fantasy Premier League , Fantasy Premier League Tips, Intercontinental Cup
#4 Fred's Energy
The main concern among Manchester United fans was about the midfield scenario. the United folklore has been accustomed to witnessing someone like Paul Pogba or Anderer Herrera run the show from the middle but to their displeasure, both were unavailable for this match.
Solksjaer deployed Fred in the middle and the Brazillian surprised the fans with his energy which proved to be instrumental in the successful completion of United's mission.
Fred was like a live wire, running all around the park to win the ball back from the PSG players. A sure shot contender for the Man of the Match award.
#3 Buffon's Rare mistake
Gianluigi Buffon is undoubtedly one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time but sometimes even the greatest of the greats make mistakes and this evening was an apt example of that.
Buffon made a horrendous error as he tried to save Rashford's long-range effort and failed to collect the ball properly which then fell for Romelu Lukaku to score and restore United's lead on the Evening.
It was a sort of rare mistake not very often committed by the Italian but it seems like United's lucky day as the mistake did help United get that all-important second goal.
#2 Lukaku's Sharpness
Manchester United needed quite a miracle to defeat this vigorous PSG side to proceed to the next round but more than that they needed a high flying start to accomplish their mission and Romelu Lukaku gave them just that.
The Belgian capitalised on the first error made by PSG as he intercepted a back pass and scored with merely 2 minutes on the clock. This did give manchester united some hope and set the tone for the evening.
Lukaku was at his prolific best once more as he didn't let off Buffon's mistake in the goal and scored again with a close-range effort and regain United's lead on the evening.
#1 VAR
And the moment which truly changed the match was in the extra time when the ball seemed to have hit Presnel Kimpembe's arm and went out for a corner.
The referee did point for a corner but his decision was reviewed by the Premier League club and within moments the PSG fans had their hopes faded as they went in a state of dilemma as to what actually happened.
He pointed towards the penalty spot and gave Manchester United a Golden chance to proceed to the last 8 stage of the tournament.
Marcus Rashford stepped up to tighten his boots and hit the ball past Gianluigi Buffon into the net and complete a miraculous comeback for the red devils.
The situation reminded us of the famous saying "Luck favours the Brave".
A truly memorable night and unbelievable scenes were witnessed in the French capital.
