Chris Smalling has revealed what Sir Alex Ferguson and Eric Cantona have said in the dressing room after the victory over Paris Saint Germain.
Manchester United have been providing elements of a surprise since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has taken over the club in December. The Manchester outfit are currently fourth in the Premier League and have qualified for the Champions League Quarterfinals for the first time since 2011.
Not many people would have handed Manchester United with a chance to overturn a 2-0 deficit at a hostile stadium like Parc Des Princes. In a game of this magnitude, an early goal would swing the mood in both the camps.
The Red Devils scored from an open play in the second minute of the game to give a glimmer of hope in this game. However, Kylian Mbappe produced a peach of a delivery to set up the left-back Juan Bernat. The left-back was quick to tap the ball in from close range to equalize the score.
Gianluigi Buffon’s mishandling gave another chance for the Red Devils to take the lead in the first half. After the visitor’s second, the hosts kept on tapping on the defence of the Red Devils.
Thomas Tuchel’s side looked lively during the second half, but they were not able to take full control of the game by slotting behind the back of the net. During the last ten minutes, the pressure kept on piling pressure and it finally burst when Diago Dalot launched a shot from outside the box.
When Presnel Kimpembe blocked the ball with his hand, there were no appeals from the United players, but the referee decided to have a look at the television. Even though his hands were in natural position, the referee decided to award a penalty to Marcus Rashford who slotted the ball in the injury time to take them to the last eight of the competition.
After the game, Eric Cantona, Sir Alex Ferguson, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer were together photographed. It is understood that they were all involved in the dressing room celebrations following that tremendous triumph.
“It was [lively in the changing room] – moments like that you’ve got to savour and take in.
“It was great to see everyone come together, all the board, the owners, and then seeing Eric come through with everyone singing his name, it was just a really good vibe.
“Sir Alex came around and shook everyone’s hand, saying congratulations. Eric said a little bit, that he was proud to watch the team play and win like that. Generally happy vibes. [It was] unbelievable.” said Smalling.
Reports claimed that Solskjaer had allowed his players to have a drink to celebrate on the plane home to Manchester but Smalling ended those claims saying, “To be honest, we weren’t. [Solskjaer] didn’t say either way. Andreas [Pereira] and Fred were in the corner playing their music. It was just nice and chilled.”
Chris Smalling, who has received criticism for his shambolic defending in recent weeks was one of the best players for Manchester United on Wednesday night.
When Solskjaer was asked if Manchester United will be able to lift the Champions League, the Norwegian replied “Of course, we fancy ourselves that we can go all the way but we just have to wait for the draw and take the game as it comes now. We’ve had loads of injuries and suspensions but maybe that was a good thing today.
“It was a fresh team with loads of energy and we knew we had to defend, be humble enough to work hard and we did that.” said Solskjaer.
This result is compared to the semifinals of the Champions League 1999. the Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down in the 11th minute, but they fought back to draw the game 2-2. That scoreline enhanced them to progress to the finals via away goals. We all know what happened in the finals against Bayern Munich.
Can they repeat the same feet this year under the man who scored the winner twenty years ago?
