Never Gonna Stop, declared the red and black tifo displayed at Old Trafford on Thursday night celebrating Manchester United’s past glories in Europe.
That may be so but when will this club stop putting their fans through the wringer like this? When will they stop giving up silly goals and leads that allow teams like Lyon back into games like this?
What an utterly ridiculous game of football. Total bonkers. United were two up by half-time, Lyon came back to level and take this quarter-final tie into extra-time before scoring twice more with only 10 men.
United looked dead and buried. But no. This team doesn’t stop. They pulled one goal back and then another.
As we entered added time at the end of extra-time, Harry Maguire popped up to head the winner and send Old Trafford into ecstasy in the most dramatic of circumstances.
So it’s United, somehow, who go through to face Athletic Bilbao in the semis in May with a chance to return to the Basque city for the final at the San Mames Stadium towards the end of the month.
Man United completed a miraculous comeback to reach the Europa League semi-finals
Harry Maguire’s header in the 121st minute saw United edge out Lyon via a 7-6 aggregate win
United had been trailing 6-4 on aggregate with six minutes to go before their last-gasp heroics
It might not be on a par with the three European Cup successes that took pride of place on the new banner here, but that won’t bother Ruben Amorim and his players after a quite incredible night.
They can still find salvation from this most hellish of seasons. Still win a trophy and qualify automatically for the Champions League. Still hit the £100million jackpot.
This was a game Ruben Amorim desperately needed to win.
‘We all know what is at stake,’ United’s head coach wrote in his programme notes before naming an unchanged line-up from last week’s 2-2 draw in France and giving Andre Onana a chance to make amends for his errors at the Groupama Stadium.
‘We must play with our hearts and our heads. The advantage of being at home tonight is that we have the incredible weapon of a packed Old Trafford on our side, and that can make a huge difference for us.’
The new tifo unfurled in the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand added to the sense of occasion, and the smoke from the pre-match fireworks was still hanging in the air when Maguire roused the fans further with a perfectly timed challenge on Lyon dangerman Rayan Cherki.
United took the lead from an excellent move that caught Lyon napping in the 10th minute.
Noussair Mazraoui’s pass down the right found Fernandes free of Paul Akouokou.
But Ruben Amorim’s side pulled off the unthinkable to make sure their season stayed alive
Manuel Ugarte put United 1-0 up early on in the 10th minute after a fast start from the hosts
Diogo Dalot scored a fine goal just before half time to give Ruben Amorim’s side a 2-0 lead
It felt like a big moment as United put one foot in the semi-finals after an impressive first half
He played the ball into Alejandro Garnacho who span away from Jordan Veretout and Moussa Niakhate before cleverly pulling it back to Manuel Ugarte, the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder, who was left unmarked to side-foot home.
Onana ran over to the Lyon fans who booed his every touch to dance a celebratory jig in front of them, and Fernandes led the celebrations around Old Trafford as VAR confirmed that he was just onside and the goal stood.
Goalkeeper Lucas Perri denied Casemiro with a one-handed save and Fernandes rattled the bar with a volley before United extended their lead in added time at the end of the first half.
Maguire floated a pass to Diogo Dalot on the edge of the Lyon box.
He wrestled with Nico Tagliafico who went down claiming a foul, but the Swiss officials saw nothing wrong with it and Dalot steadied himself before rifling a shot in off the far post.
Garnacho should really have put the tie out of their reach within five minutes of the restart but he fired straight at Perri with only the keeper to beat.
How Lyon made United pay for that.
Onana saved Coretin Tolisso’s shot on the turn but he was helpless to stop the Lyon skipper giving his team a lifeline in the 71st minute, nodding home from close range.
But United squandered several huge chances to extend their lead and they were made to pay
Corentin Tolisso pulled a goal back in the 71st minute to ramp up the pressure on United
Lyon then completed a remarkable turnaround as Nicolas Tagliafico equalised six minutes later
Ex-Arsenal man Alexandre Lacazette claimed the goal, but the ball had crossed the line already
United were rocking and Lyon stunned Old Trafford with an equaliser in the 78th minute.
Tagliafico met Malick Fofana’s cross with a mis-hit volley which crept over the line in side Onana’s far post despite the keeper’s best efforts to claw it back.
Lyon were reduced to 10 men in a frantic finish when Tolisso was harshly shown a second yellow card for a trip on Leny Yoro, but the drama was only just beginning.
Cherki, the man pursued by United when he was a teenager, rifled through Dalot’s legs and into the bottom corner after the United had got back to dispossess Fofana.
Then Luke Shaw tripped the excellent Fofana and former Arsenal man Alexandre Lacazette converted from the spot, both goals sparking a pitch invasion from the Lyon bench.
Somehow United rallied. Referee Sandro Scharer was advised to go the monitor by VAR after Almada caught Casemiro late, and Fernandes pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 114th minute.
Six minutes later, Fernandes and Casemiro got the ball to Kobbie Mainoo – playing as a false nine – and he cut inside to equalise.
Tolisso was sent off at the end of normal time for a second bookable offence in a blow for Lyon
But Lyon were started well with 10-men and Rayan Cherki put them ahead with a fine finish
Lacazette then made it 6-4 on aggregate when he slotted home a penalty in extra time
Bruno Fernandes gave United hope with his own penalty before the bonkers ending to the tie
The pandemonium inside Old Trafford had barely died down when Casemiro clipped a cross to the far post where Maguire headed inside the far post.
This time it was the United staff who poured into the pitch in utter jubilation as the Lyon players stood there in utter disbelief.
What an incredible game of football. United, still unbeaten in Europe this season, march on to Bilbao with real belief that this is their year.
