When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer claimed that anything was possible ahead of Manchester United’s trip to Paris for the second leg of their Champions League tie against PSG, nobody really believed his team had a chance of progressing to the next round.
If events went United’s way, maybe they could leave Le Parc des Princes with a respectable defeat or maybe even a draw. The idea of them even winning the game, let alone with the two or more goals required, was totally outlandish. Even if United had their best squad available they would be up against it, but with 10 missing players they had no chance.
Yet somehow, they did it.
Romelu Lukaku bagged the early goal that Solskjaer claimed they would need which gave supporters some hope. But when PSG equalised 10 minutes later, following some appalling defending from United, the wind was taken from their sails. The quality that PSG had on show was just going to be too much for this makeshift side.
A midfield comprising of Scott McTominay, Andreas Pereira and Fred has got to be the weakest United have ever fielded in a Champions League game, while Ashley Young and Eric Bailly were a long way short of having the capabilities required to match PSG’s attacking line.
Yet when Lukaku put United 2-1 ahead before half-time, the belief came pouring back in to the supporters, while the players heeded Solskjaer’s words following the first leg. “Mountains are there to be climbed,” he said, and his team did exactly that.
United became the first team in the history of the European Cup to overturn a 2-0 defeat from the home leg, following 106 failed attempts, thanks to Marcus Rashford showing nerves of steel to take his first ever penalty for the club, at senior level at least, to give United the win in the 94th minute.
The fairy-tale feeling that surrounded the club during 1999, where Solskjaer played famously played a key role, from his injury time winner against Liverpool in the FA Cup to repeating the feat in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich, is back.
United have now won nine away games on the bounce, bettering their all-time club record by two victories, claiming wins against the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Arsenal and now PSG along the way. What seemed impossible is now possible, and supporters have started readjusting their expectations for the season.
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It’s hard to believe that just a couple of months ago former manager Jose Mourinho claimed it would take a miracle for United to bridge the 11 points required to finish in the top four, but they now find themselves ahead of Chelsea and Arsenal, and just three points behind Spurs.
There’s surely no doubt that Solskjaer will be named permanent manager of the club, something Molde’s chief executive, Oystein Neerland, hoped would happen, telling their legendary manager and former player not to come back when he left for Manchester. Held in such high regard at the club where he has won the only league titles in their club’s history, the CEO wanted to see Solskjaer fulfil his dream, even if it meant they would have to say goodbye to him.
But when Ole was appointed interim boss in December, Mauricio Pochettino was still the favourite to be offered the job for the following season.
Yet while Pochettino has repeatedly played down the need to win domestic trophies, claiming that they “only build your ego”, Solskjaer has talked up his desire to win all the silverware on offer.
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Sadly for him, rivals Liverpool and Manchester City were given too great a head start for Solskjaer to play catch up for the Premier League title, but United are still in two competitions and winning both will be a target he is setting for himself and his players.
“We’ve got the Champions League, we’ve got the FA Cup, we can’t just say top four and that’s it,” Solskjaer said in January. “We’ve got to look at ‘can we win something this year?’ and I go into every single game as a Man United manager thinking we can win this game.”
The winning mentality that he has re-instilled in the players in such a short time is nothing short of remarkable, especially with so many fringe players being called in to the starting line-up thanks to injuries and suspensions. When 19-year-old Tahith Chong, making just his third appearance for the first team, went flying in on Angel Di Maria in the 95th minute on Wednesday night, and pulled off a perfectly executed tackle, it was all too apparent what belief these players have in themselves thanks to the manager. They are fearless.
The idea of United winning both trophies and finishing third still seems totally unlikely though. Surely this injury crisis will catch up with them sooner or later. But you can’t blame the United fans and players for talking up their chances. In Solskjaer they have someone who has made what was seemingly impossible a reality on so many occasions already. So, why not?
