Manchester United produced a comeback for the ages as they came back from two goals down to emerge 5-4 winners against Olympique Lyonnais at the end of extra time in their Europa League quarter-final second leg on Thursday.
When the visitors scored twice in the first period of extra time, fans started streaming out of Old Trafford thinking the home side had let it slip when it mattered.
But just as the tifo banner read, the Red Devils did not stop and went all out in the last 15 minutes of extra time and managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat in the last six minutes.
First it was Casemiro, who won a penalty that Bruno Fernandes slotted home. Then substitute Kobbie Mainoo scored a stunner to equalise.
Mainoo stunner
The Theatre of Dreams was shaking but the hosts were not done yet as Harry Maguire rose highest to slot in his header to help his team clinch a nine-goal thriller and make it to the last four of the Europa League.
After the game, TNT Sports caught up with super sub Mainoo and asked him about his goal. It was reminiscent of his wonder-strikes against Manchester City and Liverpool.
“When the ball drops to you in there, you just have to keep calm and slot it in. That’s what I did.”
Kobbie Mainoo. Composure personified. 🥶
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The way he stayed calm under pressure despite being surrounded by Lyon defenders to cooly find the back of the net is an art that the Englishman has mastered.
Just thing of his last-minute strike against Wolverhampton Wanderers last season. When it comes to special goals, the Carrington graduate is building up quite the catalogue of them.
“It was an amazing comeback. We put ourselves in that situation,” Mainoo said. “I tried to bring energy after coming on and when the ball drops in there, a yard feels like a mile…
Momentum on the rise
“You’ve just got to try to stay as calm as you can and slot it, and that’s what I did.”
A result such as this does a lot for the confidence and with Athletic Bilbao up next in the semi-finals, the England international was asked about how he rated his team’s chances in the competition.
“A win like that can bring so much momentum. We’re rolling a snowball that’s getting bigger and bigger and we’re trying to go all the way.”
The team is now likely to focus all their energy on trying to win the competition in Bilbao. Hopefully, the players can use this win as fuel to go all the way.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
