The UEFA Champions League has seen a lot of strange endings over the years, but Manchester United’s road victory against Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16 Wednesday made some new history. The final score of that 3-1 win came on a controversial penalty from Marcus Rashford in the fourth minute of stoppage time, and that meant that the series finished 3-3 on aggregate, with Manchester United advancing on away goals (PSG won the first match at Old Trafford 2-0). And that was a result never seen before in the knockout stages of the tournament:
🔴 Manchester United = first team to recover from two-goal home defeat in #UCL history! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/iXENRpMh5g
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 6, 2019
Here’s a look at the VAR-assisted handball call on Presnel Kimpembe that led to the penalty, and at how Rashford eventually buried that. It was the first penalty the 21-year-old striker had ever taken for Manchester United:
RT: Penalty
Like: No Penalty
📽: @brlive
— SiriusXM FC (@SiriusXMFC) March 6, 2019
There’s certainly going to be plenty of debate about that call in the days and weeks ahead, but it led to a remarkable outcome. And one the Champions League hadn’t seen before. But hey, interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær knows a thing or two about wild Champions League escapes…
