BEVERLY HILLS, March 07, (THEWILL) – The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was the ultimate factor deciding the fate in the UEFA Champions League matches on Wednesday night.
Manchester United came from a 2-0 first leg home loss to Paris Saint-German (PSG) to beat the French side, 3-1 in Paris, the last being a penalty awarded by the VAR to Marcus Rashford.
FC Porto also advanced 4-3 on aggregate against AS Roma, after scoring a VAR given three minutes from the end of extra time.
Francisco Soares had given FC Porto the lead with a simple tap-in on 26 minutes, but Daniele De Rossi equalized from the spot for the Italian side before half-time after Eder Militao chopped down Diego Perotti.
Moussa Marega restored the lead on the night for Porto early in the second half to level the tie. Deep into second-half extra time, Telles sent Robin Olsen the wrong way from the penalty spot after a tug by Alessandro Florenzi was spotted upon review.
This result means that legendary goalkeeper; Iker Cassilas has now won more matches than any other player in the UEFA Champions League history.
The Red Devils in France started brightly with a two-minute opportunist strike from Romelu Lukaku, latching on to Thilo Kehrer’s blind back pass and finding the net.
PSG however went 3-1 ahead on aggregate when Kylian Mbappe fed a pass to the unmarked Juan Bernat, who slotted home at the back post.
But United had other plans in their sleeves. Rashford later on tried a shot that was powerful but straight at goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. But he spilled the ball, and Lukaku followed in to score. It was a sixth goal in three games for the Belgian.
PSG looked to advance to the last eight 3-2 on aggregate before referee Damir Skomina awarded Manchester United a VAR spotted penalty kick for a Presnel Kimpembe handball at the 94th minute.
Rashford calmly beat Gianluigi Buffon from 12 yards, as United won a Champions League tie after losing the first leg at home for the first time in their history.
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