Manchester United ‘s defeat of Paris Saint-Germain has been labelled as the club’s “greatest ever achievement” in the Champions League , outside of winning it, by Graeme Souness.
United made light of a lengthy injury list and the suspension of Paul Pogba to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit at the Parc des Princes.
Two first-half goals from Romelu Lukaku and a nerveless late penalty from Marcus Rashford secured a memorable 3-1 win in Paris that secured their passage to the quarter-finals on away goals.
It was the first time a club had lost by two goals at home and progressed over two legs in the history of the Champions League and European Cup.
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It keeps United in contention to win Europe’s premier club competition for a fourth time, having previously won the competition in 1968, 1999 and 2008.
“Other than when they’ve actually won the tournament, I think that is their greatest ever achievement,” Souness said on Irish TV.
“When you look at the players on the field, I never gave them hope. They’ve always got a chance but it was a very small chance.
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“I’m absolutely flabbergasted. They were so well set up.
“It was an example of how you’re not going to be rolled over. They enjoyed a bit of luck on the night but to a man they were heroic.
“I can only think of when they’ve won the tournament as being bigger achievements.
“Some of those players won’t play big parts in Man Utd’s future, but they’ve gone to a team full of big superstars on paper and outmanoeuvred them. They’ve been disciplined in everything they did.
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“The only criticism I can offer up is they should’ve got Bailly off sooner than 35 minutes! What a fantastic achievement.”
United’s victory was secured by a contentious late penalty, awarded for a handball against PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe.
French radio station RMC has claimed that injured PSG star Neymar was so incensed by the decision that he tried to remonstrate with the referee.
According to eye-witnesses, the Brazil forward forced his way through the corridor to outside the officials’ office and had to be restrained by members of the PSG staff.
