Manchester United will need another great escape if they are to knock Barcelona out of the Champions League on Tuesday and reach the semi-finals.
United coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer completed the club’s most famous comeback at Camp Nou in 1999, when he scored the winner as United rallied from 1-0 down to beat Bayern Munich 2-1 and clinch Europe’s premier prize.
Twenty years on, Solskjaer returns to Catalonia with his side trailing 1-0 again and needing an unlikely turnaround if they are to reach the tournament’s last four.
“Of course it’s a fantastic memory for me. It’s the only time I’ve been on the pitch here,” Solskjaer said on Monday.
“I don’t mind if we score in the 93rd minute again (on Tuesday). If we get to injury time, we are a fit team.”
Meanwhile, Ernesto Valverde has said Lionel Messi is fit and ready to play in the second leg as Barcelona bid to make the semis for the first time in four years.
Messi was among 10 players rested for the goalless draw against Huesca on Saturday after a hefty challenge from United defender Chris Smalling last week left him with a swollen nose and cheek.
“He is fine,” said Valverde. “He has recovered perfectly from the blow he suffered. He was fine after a couple of days.
United’s greatest threat in recent weeks has tended to come on the counter-attack but Solskjaer insists they cannot afford to sit back.
“There are freak results against Barcelona when you have 10 or 15 percent possession and they don’t win but normally they do win,” Solskjaer said. “We need to stamp our authority on the game.”
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