It was a wild night for Manchester United that could actually lead to a Europa League final in a few weeks between Manchester United and Bodø/Glimt.
We understand how big it is for Bodø/Glimt to be the first Norwegian club to reach the last four in the Europa League when what is available in the sports media goes completely off the rails over Manchester United’s comeback against Lyon.
Read: BBC praises Bodø/Glimt for historic achievement that sent crying Italians into Easter celebrations
“Such moments make everything worth it” – Amorim
There are few more famous ups in Manchester United’s history than their Champions League triumph in 1999. That night at Camp Nou, Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer secured the victory in injury time against Bayern Munich, and lifted Europe’s most coveted trophy.
Bayern Munich led 1 – 0 and then a minute into injury time Teddy Sheringham equalised and then after coming on in the 81st minute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored the winning goal that defined his further career and gave Manchester United the first ever English treble.
Although Thursday’s dramatic and unexpected comeback win against Lyon in the Europa League quarter-finals is no match for the legendary night 26 years ago, it was enough to inspire United manager Rúben Amorim to experience such moments for himself.
“I watched the documentary about 1999 again to get some inspiration for moments like that,” Amorim revealed to TNT Sports after that game that ended 5-4 against 10-man Lyon. United scored three goals in the last six minutes of extra time to secure a 7-6 victory on aggregate.
“It was a fantastic night – 4-2 and one player more, then you think it’s over. But here it is never over. I felt that anything is possible.”
United are 14th in the Premier League, but despite a disappointing season, they are now only three games away from a European win – and thus direct qualification for the Champions League next season.
Read: Guardiola could be right – Jürgen Klopp is said to be open to spectacular comeback
“Three games away from glory – United show their ‘never-give-up’ DNA”
Manchester United have now won as many games in the Europa League under Amorim (six in eight games) as they have in the Premier League in 21 games (six wins, five draws, ten losses).
For a long time, it looked like United would take a comfortable victory after goals from Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot in a dominant first half. But they squandered the two-goal lead when Corentin Tolisso and Nicolás Tagliafico equalized and sent the game to extra time.
Although Lyon had Tolisso sent off in the last minute of regulation time, Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette (on penalties) put the French in the lead 4-2 – causing some United fans to leave the stadium to avoid traffic chaos.
But then came the incredible upswing: Bruno Fernandes’ penalty and Kobbie Mainoo’s ice-cold finish equalised, before Old Trafford exploded when Harry Maguire headed in the winning goal in the very last second.
“The sound from the stadium was the best ever,” Amorim said.
“Some people collect shirts and scarves – I want to keep this sound. It’s the best sound in the world.”
“I feel sorry for those who had to leave at 4-2 because of the traffic – they will regret it.”
“We know we are underperforming and deserve all the criticism, but we have time to make something special out of this season.”
Maguire agreed with his manager that the atmosphere at Old Trafford helped the players pull off one of the most memorable comebacks.
“To be down 4-2 in extra time against 10 men is not good enough – we opened up too much,” he admitted.
“But we fought and showed great fighting spirit. That’s what this stadium does to you.”
A historic night – the statistics behind the comeback
- Maguire’s goal was the first winning goal scored in the 120th minute in Europa League history, and the first in a major European Cup match since Atlético Madrid beat Liverpool at Anfield in March 2020.
- This was only the second 5-4 win in United’s history – the first being against Arsenal in 1958.
- This was the first game in European Cup history with five goals scored in extra time.
- Fernandes has scored 14 penalty goals in the European Cup (3 for Sporting, 11 for United). Only Robert Lewandowski (20), Cristiano Ronaldo (20) and Lionel Messi (18) have more.
