Jurgen Klopp: Man Utd lucky to beat PSG in Champions League
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes Manchester United were extremely fortunate to beat Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.
United scored a contentious last-minute penalty to beat the Parisians 3-1 at the Parc des Princes, sending Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men through to the quarter-finals on away goals.
Were United lucky to beat PSG? Five key things to know…
- PSG beat Man Utd 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Old Trafford.
- In the return fixture Solskjaer had very few first team regulars at his disposal and was forced to deploy a makeshift XI.
- However, United fought hard and found themselves 2-1 up in injury time, though still needing one goal to go through.
- They were offering few clear-cut chances but were soon awarded a penalty after the referee deemed Diogo Dalot’s shot to have been illegally handled by Presnel Kimpembe upon intervention from VAR.
- As such, Marcus Rashford stepped up and scored the winner, but many have criticised the decision following the match.
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With United trailing the tie on aggregate, a hopeful Diogo Dalot struck the arm of Presnel Kimpembe in the dying embers, and referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot upon consolation with VAR.
Rashford ultimately scored the resultant spot-kick but many lambasted the decision-making of the referee in the immediate aftermath of the result.
And Klopp has now echoed those views, with the German labelling PSG’s elimination as “one of the most unlucky games I have ever seen in my life”.
“I know it is not easy to win all these games, really not easy,” he told Canal Football Club.
“But they will be French champions this season now that they are out of Champions League, in one of the most unlucky games I have ever seen in my life to be honest.
“I was watching and I was like ‘wow, it is actually not possible that you lose it,’ and they lost it.”
Klopp went on to explain how PSG’s round-of-16 collapse was different to their infamous 6-5 capitulation to Barcelona in 2017 because the club were better in only one leg whereas against Man Utd, they were better in both.
He added: “This one was different (compared with the Barcelona remontada), because one game against Barcelona they were better, in the next one Barcelona were better, it was unlucky, but here they were better in both games and are out. That is pretty rare.”
United prize for beating PSG was a tough quarter-final draw against Barcelona, with the winner facing one of Klopp’s Liverpool or Porto.
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‘PSG to sign Man Utd’s Herrera’
Ander Herrera could be set to relocate to the French capital after agreeing terms to join PSG this summer, according to the Daily Record.
The Spaniard will see his present deal at Old Trafford expire at the end of the season but talks have been ongoing regarding an extension.
However, according to the report those negotiations have now hit a major stumbling block with the 29-year-old demanding nearly double his current wage structure.
As such, Thomas Tuchel may very well have got his hands on further central midfield reinforcements, with Herrera potentially moving to Ligue 1.
A possible departure would be a huge blow to Solskjaer as he makes up an integral part of his three-man midfield, alongside Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic.
And with Pogba recently opening the door on a “dream” move to Real Madrid, United may be set for a busy summer.
