Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted Paris Saint-Germain represented a "level up" from the teams they have played in the Premier League, but didn't accept that the tie was done and dusted.
After winning 10 and drawing one of his 11 games in charge, Solskjaer suffered the first defeat of his reign as manager against Thomas Tuchel's powerful and star-laden outfit.
Speaking to RTÉ Sport afterwards, the Norwegian contended that his team were rocked by the concession of the opening goal early in the second half and acknowledged that they failed to rise to the challenge of rattling in the French champions in the final half hour.
A tough night at the office for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but he's not giving up yet. The Manchester United boss spoke to RTÉ Sport after the 2-0 loss to PSG in the #ChampionsLeague #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/yoxeFunN39
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) February 12, 2019
"It was a tough game," he said. "The first half was even stevens. When we conceded a goal from a set-piece that made it hard for us. The mentality changed because we'd just conceded an away goal.
"And we never got to grips with it in the last half hour. We put loads of crosses in the box but were never sharp enough in our movements and in finishing.
"We played against a top team, a top team with experienced defenders and quality up front. It was a level up for us tonight."
Solskjaer stressed that his team would have to travel to Paris with a gung-ho attitude, citing as inspiration Juventus's rousing second-leg performance in the Bernabeu in last season's semi-final.
"We have to go there with the intention of scoring two goals. We've seen last year with Juventus and Real Madrid that it was never over until a decision that I don't agree with towards the end of the game.
"So, it can be done. This club has done it before and these players have done it before. We're going to go down there and give it a go.
"Spirits are not great at the moment but you can't feel sorry for yourself as a footballer. You've got to shake it off, get up in the morning because we've got big games coming up."
