Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits he would like to play the 2002 Champions League semi-final again to have a chance with Roy Keane still playing against him.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has admitted he wished he had returned to score in the 2002 Champions League semi-final to “shut up Roy Keane”, but Roy Keane still regrets the mistake.
Despite Manchester United’s dominance in the Premier League, players speak of several missed opportunities on the European stage, including Sir Alex Ferguson’s only two wins in a 30-year period of success.
One of the teams that chased them out of the Champions League was Bayer Leverkusen, who reached the final that year. They beat United thanks to away goals before losing to Real Madrid.
United knew they were at a disadvantage heading into the away leg, having tied the first leg at Old Trafford at 2-2 with Oliver Neuville’s late equalizer. In Leverkusen, Keane scored for the Red Devils as they drew 1-1, but it wasn’t enough.
Diego Forlan saw his shot cleared on the line and moments later Solskjær was found by Ryan Giggs in the box, but the Norwegian rushed the chance and fired the ball over the crossbar from close range. Keene still regrets that.
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Solskjaer told the BBC: “There’s one game I’d like to play again, score a goal and shut Roy Keane up, and that’s Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League semi-final. Every time I see Roy, he’s like, ‘I’m going to take this chance that I missed.’ The ball was right behind me and I hit it just over the bar and we lost on away goals. So every time I see Roy, he mentions that game. I mean, it was a game-changing game. history. ”
United were left to mourn the loss of yet another Champions League chance and ended the season without a trophy. Keane also recently referred to Solskjær’s mistakes.
Speaking on Stick to Football, the Irishman admitted that the mistake still sticks in his memory. “I know I have to move on, but Bayer Leverkusen, I still see Ole’s chances in that game. I still bring that up when I see him, I still mention the chances he missed! Forget how good he was. I thought, ‘Fucking spot on!'”
Solskjaer’s name is etched into United’s history when he scored the goal that won the Champions League in 1999. He came off the bench as United scored twice in the final two minutes to overwhelm Bayern Munich at the Camp Nou.
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