Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed the team talk which inspired the Manchester United comeback against PSG in the Champions League.
Manchester United registered an emphatic comeback against Paris Saint Germain in the round-of-16 of the Champions League.
Romelu Lukaku scored a brace, while Rashford netted in an injury-time penalty to secure a place in the quarterfinal of the competition.
The victory was significant as Manchester United were without 10 first-team players, including all of their first-choice midfielders in Paul Pogba, Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic.
Solskjaer, in his post-match reaction, revealed what his team talk was like which motivated the Manchester United players ahead of the game.
Solskjaer’s team talk:
The Manchester United caretaker manager stated that the side took inspiration from Ajax’s win against Real Madrid on Tuesday.
A young Dutch side defeated the defending European champions 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu, becoming the first team to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League since May 2015.
Solskjaer disclosed the ten words he said to the Manchester United team during the team talk.
“We used the Ajax game as motivation before our game,” Solskjaer said.
“It was fantastic to watch the underdog away from home win at a big place. I just said that’s my team talk – ‘Y’all watched the game, we can do it as well.'”
“It’s the Champions League. That’s what it does,” Solskjaer began.
“We saw last night, Real Madrid vs Ajax. That was our team talk.
“Last year, it was Real Madrid vs Juventus, that was close, the year before Paris against Barcelona.”
Solskjaer also stated that the injuries came as a blessing in disguise, as it allowed him to play a fresh team and test their quality against world-class opposition.
“We always know that it’s possible and with this club, this is what we do. That’s just Man United.
“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.”
How Twitter reacted..
Mourinho: “Ten Hag from Ajax, Solskjaer from Manchester United, incredible results, so credit to them. Manchester United, I would say the mental side of it, the self-belief, very special days for these two men” #mufc [RT] pic.twitter.com/ufETK2c2eu
— United Xtra (@utdxtra) March 7, 2019
Solskjær: “Ajax gave us inspiration. We all watched their amazing performance and I told the boys that we can make a miracle happen as well.” [ziggosport] pic.twitter.com/fws1aircQr
— AFC Ajax 💫 (@TheEuropeanLad) March 7, 2019
Mourinho: “If the responsibility in the bad days is for the managers, the responsibility of the good days is then also for the managers. So for me, (Erik) ten Hag from Ajax and Solskjaer from Manchester United. Incredible results, so credit to them.”
— Bolarinwa Olajide (@iambolar) March 8, 2019
If the responsibility of the bad days is for the manager, then the responsibility of the good days is also for the manager. Praises Solskjær and Ajax boss ten Hag. What a man ❤ https://t.co/tenFJ7MLkC
— Jíthu (@futbolsinistro) March 7, 2019
What next?
Manchester United will return to action on Sunday night as they take on Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium. The game will be significant for both the sides as they aim for a top-4 finish in the Premier League.
