PARIS: Marcus Rashford scored a stoppage-time penalty awarded after a VAR review to give Manchester United a stunning 3-1 win away to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday as they improbably went through to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals.
A seriously depleted United looked to have given themselves too much to do after losing 2-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie last month, yet a Romelu Lukaku brace in the first half at the Parc des Princes gave them hope.
Even so, Juan Bernat had netted in between for PSG, and it looked as though they would stumble on until the drama at the death.
Slovenian referee Damir Skomina awarded a spot-kick after reviewing the images when he had been alerted of a possible handball by PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe in the box.
Rashford duly beat Gianluigi Buffon from 12 yards, as United won a European tie after losing the first leg at home for the first time in their history.
Their improbable victory — following Ajax’s similarly stunning turnaround against holders Real Madrid 24 hours earlier — takes them through to the last eight for the first time since 2014.
Their remarkable revival under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continues, with the Norwegian now having overseen nine consecutive away wins, a club record.
While they celebrate, for PSG this defeat will feel like groundhog day.
For the third year running they fail to make the quarter-finals, after their defeat at the hands of Real Madrid a year ago and their humiliating collapse against Barcelona in 2017.
With what came before, this will feel even more painful for them and their Qatari owners.
Electric at Old Trafford in the first leg, Kylian Mbappe was poor here and Neymar was again missing, watching from the stands as he recovers from injury.
United were missing many more players, with Paul Pogba suspended and nine more sidelined due to fitness problems.
Despite that, they pulled off one of their greatest European results, up there with their 3-2 win at Juventus in the 1999 semifinals, which came after they fell two goals behind early on.
Solskjaer was on the bench that night, and the Norwegian watched from the sideline here — curiously looking like a substitute with a bib on over his jacket apparently due to a color clash with PSG’s kit — as his side somehow went in front inside two minutes.
A dreadful back-pass attempt by PSG defender Thilo Kehrer fell into no-man’s land, and Lukaku pounced on the loose ball before rounding Gianluigi Buffon and scoring. Surely PSG were not about to blow it again?
They did pull themselves together to equalize in the 12th minute, with Dani Alves releasing Mbappe in the box. As the away defense slept, Mbappe’s ball across goal was turned in at the far post by Bernat, the defender scoring his third Champions League goal this season.
Now it looked as though their start to the game would prove to be nothing more than a blip.
The depleted visitors, with Eric Bailly at right-back and Fred, Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira all in midfield, were incapable of keeping the ball. However, they were gifted another goal half an hour in.
Not closed down 25 yards out, Rashford tried a shot that was powerful but straight at Buffon.
Yet the veteran Italian, still hoping to win the Champions League for the first time aged 41, spilled the ball, and Lukaku followed in to score. It was a sixth goal in three games for the Belgian.
PSG — so slick in France — were wobbling again at the business end of the Champions League.
Di Maria had a goal ruled out for offside in the 56th minute and Mbappe then managed to fall when clean through late on, with Bernat sending the loose ball against the post.
It still looked as though they would hang on, but then VAR intervened, and Rashford sent United into ecstasy.
Last-gasp Marcus Rashford penalty stuns PSG and sends Manchester United into quarterfinals
Last-gasp Marcus Rashford penalty stuns PSG and sends Manchester United into quarterfinals
Lee, Hellgren, Kim secure 2026 LIV Golf wild cards
- Canada’s Richard T. Lee claims victory at Black Diamond Ranch in Florida
LECANTO: A dominant performance by Richard T. Lee of Canada. A clutch low round for Sweden’s Bjorn Hellgren. And an inspirational return for American Anthony Kim.
All three players had reason to celebrate at Black Diamond Ranch on Sunday afternoon after securing the three wild card spots available through this week’s LIV Golf Promotions. The trio joins International Series qualifiers Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji as the five wild cards who will compete in the 13 regular season tournaments during the 2026 LIV Golf League season, which opens in Riyadh on Feb. 4-7.
While Lee and Hellgren will make their LIV Golf debuts in Saudi Arabia, Kim returns for his third season as a wild card player. He came out of a 12-year retirement from professional golf to join LIV Golf in 2024 but was relegated after last season. Earning a spot for 2026 reflects the considerable progress he has made in recent months.
“There were definitely low moments throughout those two years,” Kim said. “But I believe in myself more than anybody else believes in me, and I think that’s all that matters. I felt like I would earn my spot back if I did get relegated, which I did. I felt like if I just kept my foot on the gas and just kept grinding that great things were going to happen.”
Lee, meanwhile, completed an impressive weeklong effort with a final-round 5-under 65, leaving him at 11 under for the 36-hole weekend shootout for a five-shot victory over Hellgren, his nearest competitor.
The 35-year-old becomes the first Canadian to earn a spot on LIV Golf and he did it in style, shooting rounds of 64, 66, 64 and 65 over the four days, including the first two 18-hole knockout rounds that whittled the initial field of 78 players down to the 22 competing this weekend.
“It’s not sunk in yet, to be honest,” said Lee, who suffered just two bogeys all week, one of those coming late on Sunday when he already had a spot wrapped up. “Twenty-one under on this course is absolutely amazing. I’m very pleased with my game right now.”
Hellgren shot an even-par 70 on Saturday, leaving him outside the top 10 on Sunday. The 35-year-old, who won the Saudi Open presented by PIF last month, had to play aggressively to make up strokes.
He opened with consecutive birdies and overcame a couple of bogeys midway through his round, finishing it off with four birdies in his final six holes to shoot a 6-under 64, matching the course record set by Lee earlier in the week.
“Starting the day, we knew what we had to do,” Hellgren said. “We had to shoot a low one today. We had to basically go all in.”
Kim was in better shape to start the day, in the primary chase pack after shooting a 66 on Saturday. Through 10 holes on Sunday, he was even par for the day and in a three-way tie for the third and final spot with two Thailand golfers, Jazz Janewattananond and Sarit Suwannarut.
Kim then birdied the par-4 11th with a 20-foot putt to create separation, then battled hard to maintain it. The par-4 14th was a key moment, as he twice overcame tricky lies near bunkers, eventually saving par with a 15-foot putt. By the time he reached the 18th hole, he was three shots clear of fourth place and could afford a final bogey.
“Felt like if I made that putt, it could really swing the momentum,” Kim said of the 14th. “I beared down and holed it.”
Lee and Hellgren are both looking forward to the step up in competition with LIV Golf, with a field that includes champions such as Bryson DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson and others.
“Definitely have to hit it longer to keep up with those guys and maybe get my short game a little bit sharper,” Lee said.
“Obviously this is going to change our life, for my family,” Hellgren added. “But it’s still just a tournament, and I’m sure I’ll be going to Riyadh to try to win because I like the feeling of winning.”
Kim, meanwhile, is glad just to have another season on LIV Golf. Sunday’s outcome was arguably the biggest moment of his two-year return to the sport.
“There’s a ton of satisfaction,” Kim said at the end of his press conference. “I’m sure I’ll understand that all that work has really shown this week, maybe later tonight when I’m drinking an iced tea. It means a lot to me because three years ago, doctors told me that I potentially had two weeks to live. So just to be here standing in front of you guys is a blessing.”
