What did the manager have to say before the game?
In his pre-match press conference, Solskjaer was asked if he was going to take a defensive approach against Barcelona, replying:
"“We didn’t stamp out authority on the game at home, we didn’t keep the ball or create chances as we should have. “Some freak results [happen], when you have 80 per cent and they don’t win. We know we need to perform better and play ourselves. If you give players like [Luis] Suarez and Messi time on the ball, you will suffer.”"
Reporters also asked the Norwegian if this is his biggest challenge yet as Manchester United manager. He replied:
"“Short-term, of course, tomorrow night [is my biggest challenge]. It is my only focus. I can’t spend too long discussion the future. “All I am thinking is tomorrow, enough to score and stop them to score. We are now 1-0 down, half-time, but if it is a game with many goals in it we stand a bigger chance.”"
The boss was also asked how he will make the players believe that they can overturn their 1-0 deficit at Camp Nou, replying:
"“Belief is massive. Everyone’s got talent and a certain ability. We’ve seen against PSG we have the ability to come back against a massive team. “Barcelona historically is the best, but if we give our all, get that better concentration – we slept for a second [last time], even though they had a lot of the ball – so that concentration is key.”"