Marcus Rashford’s stoppage-time penalty secured injury-hit Manchester United an extraordinary victory against the odds at Paris St Germain as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer steered his side into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Just 22 days after suffering his only defeat as caretaker manager in the first leg, United arrived in France looking to become the first side in the competition’s history to progress after suffering a first-leg home loss by two goals.
The odds were stacked against them – but United turned the improbable into reality in an extraordinary Parc des Princes clash, securing a 3-1 victory and progress on away goals.
Romelu Lukaku scored either side of Juan Bernat’s effort in a first half which had Solskjaer’s side dreaming, with the video assistant referee’s stoppage-time time intervention leading to a penalty that Rashford slammed home.
United were without 10 players at the big-spending Ligue 1 champions, but those selected embodied the positivity displayed by their manager and spirit synonymous with the club over the years.
The visitors flew out of the blocks and Lukaku capitalised on a mistake within two minutes, slotting home after showing strength and skill.
Thomas Tuchel’s side rallied and looked set to roar ahead after Bernat turned home Kylian Mbappe’s cross, only for Gianluigi Buffon to spill a hopeful Rashford shot into the path of Lukaku.
It was a frantic first half followed by a far edgier second period and United’s hopes of reaching a first quarter-final since 2014 looked to be over – until added time.
Presnel Kimpembe was adjudged to have handled a Diogo Dalot shot after referee Damir Skomina looked at the incident on a monitor – and Rashford did the rest.
The celebrations at full-time reflected the magnitude of the win and could well prove to secure Solskjaer the job permanently.
James
Guest
Your definition again is too narrow, intent doesnt just mean 'oh im going to put my hand in front of this ball', intent has to, i think, also mean an absence of thinking about following the rules. As he jumped and turned his back he knew that his arm would go out like that, it would be away from his body, he knew that his arm would be away from his body because thats a natural action that your arm does when you jump and turn your back. So he knew that his arm would do something that was potentially illegal. For me thats more than enough for intent. I think the most important thing is that the refs have been consistent, from the world cup to the Man City penalty they have all applied the same understanding of what is and what is not a penalty. That has to be a good thing.
Pablo
Guest
I guess we'll never really know whether a player deliberately handles the ball unless there is a very obvious movement towards it and that makes the rule flawed. But I would argue that by turning your back and not looking at the ball you are showing no intent to avoid it and if it then hits your hand it's handball.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
No. I'm just saying that there needs to be intent, regardless of where the arm is in relation to the body.
Pablo
Guest
So you're saying as long as you turn your back you can use your arms and make urself bigger and if the ball hits your arm it's no foul? If he was facing the ball it would be a peno, the fact he turns his back doesn't mean he can have his arms out and not make an attempt to move them out of the way. Peno all the way.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
He jumps, arm up, with eyes tracking the ball and only turns away as it hits him. It’s more of a penalty than most of the handball penalties I’ve ever seen given.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
The rules clearly state contact needs to be intentional. The inconsistency lies with the referees interpretation. Having your arm out and your back turned on the ball isn't intentional. Neither is the ball hitting you from a metre away, hit at high speed. You may have noticed the number of complaints around handball decisions at the WC, so much so that the rules are being altered to allow greater consistency. The commentators in the game last night were shocked it was given. It wasn't intentional. Arm position etc is irrelevant.
James
Guest
Your definition of deliberate isnt consistent, and much too narrow, with how referees have been understanding it. Its consistent with every single review at the world cup and everyone of those was a penalty.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Arm out isn't hand ball. Either it was deliberate or not is all that matters.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
The rule are pretty clear, it needs to be intentional. Arm position, whether away from the body, or "unnatural" is irrelevant. There was no way that was intentional, which shows how unsuitable VAR is when the decision isn't black and white
andy66
Guest
Look at the replay as he strikes it, the PSG guy has his arm out thats why it was given.
James
Guest
It was harsh but his arm was away from his body and every single referee is saying that its a penalty.
pete4
Guest
Terrible penalty decision to send Man Utd through. Good grief if this happened in the A-League finals