Manchester United travelled to France to take on Olympique Lyonnais in the quarter final of the Europa League.
Andre Onana started in goal with Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Harry Maguire forming the back three, with Matthijs de Ligt still injured.
Patrick Chinazaekpere Dorgu and Diogo Dalot took up their usual spots at wingback while Manuel Ugarte was once again partnered by Casemiro in the midfield.
Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho started as the tens, just behind Rasmus Hojlund who got the nod ahead of Joshua Zirkzee.
Here are four things we learnt from the match.
Onana can’t back up his words
The United keeper caused a commotion before the match when he labelled his side a “way better” team than Lyon.
This resulted in a response from former Red and Lyon midfielder, Nemanja Matic, who claimed that Onana was the worst keeper in the modern history of the club.
The war of words was not done when the Cameroonian responded on social media that he had at least won a trophy with the Red Devils.
Many United fans were worried that the keeper had brought on some unnecessary pressure on himself and he failed to deliver once more when he palmed in a soft free kick to give the home side the lead.
With the Red Devils 2-1 up with seconds remaining, the catastrophic keeper once more failed to deal with a simple chance and Rayan Cherki pounced to poke in the rebound, in what could be a tie-costing error.
Onana has faced numerous criticisms over his technique and mentality and tonight will have done little to quell these doubts from a large section of the United fanbase.
Leny Yoro scores his first United goal
The teenager has really grown into his role at the club and is now starting to really look the part at Old Trafford.
He has nailed down a starting role since the injury to Lisandro Martinez and he has put in some impressive showings as of late.
The defender in his native land grabbed his first goal for his new club with an instinctive header just before half-time.
Yoro did have a nose for a goal while playing for LOSC Lille and hopefully he can add some more to his game for a goal-shy United side.
Ugarte-Casemiro midfield doesn’t work
Ruben Amorim will eventually want to dominate possession but it looks like he has accepted recently that for this season at least, he will have more success playing a low block in big matches.
The side have done well against Manchester City and Arsenal recently playing in this style in the Premier League, where they drew but were probably the better side in both encounters.
Nonetheless, with a back five, a double pivot of the Uruguayan and the Brazilian seems overkill.
The biggest issue is that both are rather suspect on the ball and clearly do not have the passing skills to control possession. Consequently, when these two start together, United will never be able to control the play unless it is against substantially weaker sides.
Joshua Zirkzee is United’s first choice striker
While Hojlund once more failed to exert any sort of influence during his time on the pitch, Zirkzee again contributed much more in significantly less time.
He entered the field of play in the second half and automatically offered much more presence higher up the pitch and linked up with his teammates much more effectively.
The Dutchman scored in the last round and he once again grabbed what could be a crucial goal late in this tie.
Hojlund has been given numerous chances to prove himself but Amorim must realise how much better the team plays when Zirkzee is on the pitch and reward him with more starting opportunities.
Featured image Michael Steele via Getty Images
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Alex Browne
Alex is a huge Manchester United fan, inspired by greats of his homeland such as George Best, Harry Gregg and Norman Whiteside. Proud owner of such niche shirts such as Kleberson, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Gary Neville. Grew up pretending to be Ruud van Nistelrooy and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in the back garden, with little success.
