Against the Odds

Old Trafford’s disappointed, to lose at home’s the worst.
Is this the end of dreaming, has Ole’s bubble burst?
Beaten 2-0 by PSG. What’s more they were outclassed
By organised opponents, experienced and fast.

 So now they’re off to Paris. No chance, the pundits say.
The players unavailable could beat these, any day.
But Solskjaer knows the history of comebacks from the dead;
He never says it’s hopeless, he’s a winner, he’s a Red.

If we can get an early goal then that will sow some doubt.
It barely takes two minutes for that to come about.
Twin strikers hunting as a pair provoke a slack mistake
Lukaku’s rounding Buffon and United get a break.

The home side get a goal back. That lead was all too short
This PSG won’t just collapse, a battle must be fought.
United like a boxer are battered on the ropes
It looks like one-way traffic but they hang on to their hopes.

 A swerving shot from Rashford that Buffon cannot hold
And then Lukaku strikes again – this pair is solid gold.
Maria dinks it into goal. Relief, it’s given offside;
Last-ditch defending at its best, they’re fighting for their pride.

It’s not just hell for leather, it’s a carefully planned campaign
Behind the boss’s smiling face is a calculating brain.
There’s a player getting treatment when Solskjaer – he’s the man –
Calls players to the dugout to see the latest plan.

He shows them all the diagram, how everyone pulls back
Until the last ten minutes when they move in to attack.
A hopeful shot’s deflected – was that a Paris arm?
The VAR says penalty, and just one man is calm.

It’s mine, says Rashford, 20. You take the chance you get.
He waits until the bickering’s done them blasts it in the net.
United’s bench is drowning in a torrent of relief
As the box of sound is silenced in utter disbelief.

They didn’t play great football. Good passes? Just a few
But they believed until the end and that’s why they went through.
It took a dodgy penalty late on in added time
But as Ole said before the game – mountains are there to climb.