Earlier this year, UEFA announced that it would be scrapping the away goals rule in all of its competitions from the start of the 2021/22 season.
The decision was met with celebration by some and with anger by others. Many believed the away goals rule was the very rule that made European competitions so special, but whether we like it or not, European football's governing body is standing by its call.
All this got us thinking, how different would Manchester United's history look had the rule never been put in place? Here's a look at a few times United's Champions League campaigns was impacted by the rule.
2018/19
The tie against Paris Saint-Germain back in 2019 was arguably United’s best game of the Ole Gunnar Solskjaer era.
Marcus Rashford's heroically dispatched late penalty sent United through to the quarter-finals with the scores tied at 3-3 after two legs and United boasting an away goal.
After the famous night in Paris, interim boss Solskjaer was appointed on a permanent basis, though the wheels started to fall off once his stay at Old Trafford had been confirmed.
That night in Parc des Princes will always be remembered fondly by United fans, yet it's not an unfair assumption to make that had United not beaten PSG that night then perhaps Solskjaer wouldn't have been handed the reins on a permanent basis.
That win over PSG will always be fondly remembered by United fans, but it might actually have been even more influential in United's recent history than we realise.
2009/10
We're going back a while now.
One of United’s most catastrophic experiences with the away goals rule came in the 2009/10 season. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side were pitted against Bayern Munich at the quarter-final stage and they were sent crashing out of the competition after Arjen Robben scored a stunning volley to make the score 4-4 on aggregate.
United had done brilliantly to take control of the tie having taken a 3-1 lead at Old Trafford in the second leg after their 2-1 defeat in Munich the previous week, yet it wasn't to be as the Dutchman's sensational strike sent Bayern through to the last four.
Bayern went on to reach the final but were bettered by an Inter Milan side led by a certain Jose Mourinho. If the away goals rule had never been put in place, the whole outcome of the 2009/10 Champions League could’ve been so different.
2001/02
For all the young United fans out there, be happy you weren’t following the club for the 2001/02 Champions League campaign.
United were (as usual) one of the favourites to go all the way as the competitions reached the knockout rounds in 2002.
Ferguson's men played Bayer Leverkusen in the semi-final - a solid team but a side United were expected to beat. The aggregate score after the two legs was 3-3, with Leverkusen clinging on to advance to the final having bagged twice at Old Trafford in the first leg.
The German outfit went on to lose the showpiece event in Glasgow against Real Madrid, with that Zinedine Zidane volley the deciding moment in the clash.
In fairness, had the Frenchman produced that moment of magic against United then even Ferguson would have done well to mastermind a comeback, but you just never know.
Without the away goals rule maybe there would be another Champions League crown in the Old Trafford trophy cabinet.
Do you like the fact the away goals rule has been scrapped? Follow our United on my Mind trends writer Anil Kandola on Twitter and let us know your thoughts in the comments section below
