Jose Mourinho: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Deserves 'Credit' for PSG Turnaround in UCL

Jose Mourinho has praised his Manchester United successor, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, for masterminding the club's remarkable turnaround in the UEFA Champions League last 16 against Paris Saint-Germain.

On Wednesday, the Red Devils beat PSG 3-1 at the Parc des Princes to overturn a 2-0 deficit from the first leg at Old Trafford and advance to the quarter-finals of Europe's elite competition for the first time since 2014:

It was United's 14th win in 17 matches under Solskjaer since he was appointed interim manager following Mourinho's departure back in December.

The way the Norwegian has transformed United's fortunes has not reflected well on Mourinho, who left the club under a cloud of acrimony after a poor start to 2018-19. United sat 11 points off the top four when Mourinho departed but are now one point ahead of fifth-placed Arsenal, who host the Red Devils on Sunday.

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However, when asked by RT (h/t Sky Sports) to pick notable performers from the midweek's Champions League action, the Portuguese manager credited Solskjaer, along with Ajax manager Erik ten Hag after the Dutch side's 4-1 win at Real Madrid:

"Independent of the performances, Ajax and Manchester United's results are phenomenal results, and if the responsibility in the bad days is for the managers, the responsibility of the good days is also for the managers.

"So for me, Ten Hag from Ajax and Solskjaer from Manchester United. Incredible results, so credit to them."

Mourinho added that United showed great "self-belief" against the French champions.

A comeback for United had been widely billed as impossible following the first leg, when Solskjaer's side were comprehensively outplayed at their own stadium:

However, after Romelu Lukaku netted twice in the first half either side of Juan Bernat's equaliser, United were left needing just one more goal to send PSG crashing out at the last-16 stage for the third time in as many seasons.

And in second-half stoppage time, a video assistant referee review adjudged that PSG defender Presnel Kimpembe had handled the ball in the penalty area, and Marcus Rashford beat Gianluigi Buffon from 12 yards to seal his side's progress.

A year ago, under the guidance of Mourinho, United meekly exited the Champions League at the first knockout round despite having been handed a relatively kind draw against Sevilla.

They are now in the pot for the quarter-finals with three teams United can be confident of beating: Tottenham Hotspur, Ajax and Porto.

The last-eight lineup is likely to be completed next week by Barcelona, Manchester City, Atletico Madrid, and one of Bayern Munich or Liverpool, with the draw scheduled for March 15.