Paris Saint-Germain 1-3 Manchester United (Aggregate 3-3): 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

#1 Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has certainly climbed a mountain…and now deserves to be rewarded for it

Baby-Faced Assassin

''Mountains are there to be climbed.''

These were Solksjaer’s words when he was asked whether United could script a memorable turnaround in Paris. With ten first-team players missing from the game, any other manager would have taken a more diplomatic route and tried to ward off the question.

And that’s what makes Ole the most appropriate candidate for the permanent role at Old Trafford. When he didn’t even have the required armory, his belief was strong enough to persuade the players who were available to play this match that they were good enough to come out on top against an elite European side.

Solksjaer’s stint at United has already seen success but this show displays that he has passed on the learnings from his playing days in abundance to the current lot of players.

It was visible in Marcus Rashford’s approach while taking the spot-kick in such a tense moment of the game. Rashford had a below-par outing until then but when the situation and opportunity arose, he snatched them with both hands and put United ahead despite facing arguably one of the greatest goalkeepers of all-time.

Solskjaer might still be learning the tactical side of the game whilst facing the elite European teams. However, he surely has the Mancunian grit and determination to battle it out through the toughest of times and find a way to win even against the tides.

What more can he do to attain the job on a permanent basis?