PSG vs Manchester United: Marcus Rashford reveals what he told himself before crucial late penalty
United progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League in remarkable fashion
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Marcus Rashford wanted to make sure he kept a cool head as he stepped up to score the decisive late penalty in Manchester United’s dramatic win over Paris Saint-Germain.
United progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League thanks to Rashford’s spot-kick in the fourth minute of added-on time, awarded by VAR after Presnel Kimpembe handballed inside the penalty area.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side led 2-1 on the night after Romelu Lukaku scored two goals either side of a Juan Bernat equaliser, but PSG were heading through on aggregate.
Rashford’s penalty levelled the aggregate score at 3-3, with United progressing to the last eight on away goals.
When asked by BT Sport what was going through his mind as he stood over the decisive kick, Rashford said: “I think just keep a cool head. You practice that every day and I wanted to take it. That’s probably the hardest thing, the wait before.
“Those moments are what we live for. Everything was against us but like Rom said we are used to surviving in these moments and we proved that again.”
United’s hopes of overcoming PSG dwindled as an largely uneventful second half went on. Diogo Dalot’s late speculative shot which led to Kimpembe’s handball was United’s first attempt since the break.
Solskjaer turned to youngsters Tahith Chong and Mason Greenwood, who made his senior debut due to a raft of injuries in United’s ranks of late.
“Everything seemed to be against us, but we believe that we can always do something,” Rashford said.
“We can still improve and we need to keep pushing. It’s a great thing. 10 players out injured but for them [Chong and Greenwood] it’s a chance to come forward. They’ve trained every day and it’s what they deserve.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments