Manchester United had to be content with a 2-2 draw from their thrilling Europa League quarter-final first leg tie against Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday.
It was the hosts who took the lead in the 25th minute but the visitors did well to restore parity right before half-time through Leny Yoro, who got his first goal for the club.
And United looked a lot better when Rasmus Hojlund left the pitch and was replaced by Joshua Zirkzee, who handed the Red Devils a deserved lead in the 88th minute.
The Dutchman must have thought he had won the game for his side only for Andre Onana to drop another clanger with practically the last kick of the game as Lyon equalised.
Disappointing ending
Both of the French side’s goals came from the goalkeeper’s mistakes and Ruben Amorim must drop both his shot-stopper and striker from the next game given the performance they have consistently put in this season.
The result means the tie remains in the balance heading to Old Trafford for the second leg next Thursday. And Zirkzee revealed that the dressing room was disappointed with the late equaliser but the team must get their heads back in the game and move on swiftly from this disappointment.
“It is not a bad result in the end, but it obviously hurts that their second goal came so late. Now we have to try and move forward and focus on the next game as quickly as possible,” the goalscorer told MUTV after the match.
Substitutes Kobbie Mainoo and Zirkzee combined well for the second goal while skipper Bruno Fernandes grabbed the assist and the former Bologna ace claimed it was a joy to play with such skillful teammates.
He also explained that despite the disappointing ending, the visiting side showed more than enough promise in the game and will be taking back a lot of positives given the performance against a strong Ligue 1 side.
Must-win at Old Trafford again
“It is easy in this team. When you get on the pitch you have to perform and I think we all did well. Lyon are a great team so there will be moments where they are dangerous. But there were a lot of good moments we can take from this game and take to the next game.”
Just like in the Round of 16 against Real Sociedad, the 20-time English league champions have the chance to secure progress in the competition at the Theatre of Dreams.
And the summer signing emphatically said that the club want to win this competition and they will give it their all at Old Trafford next week to make it through to the semi-finals.
“We have to win, it is 100 percent clear. We will do everything to win. You saw what happened against Real Sociedad at Old Trafford and it will be nice if we can repeat that.”
Hopefully, Amorim will learn from his selection errors and drop the non-performers to ensure a cracking return leg.
Feature image Ion Alcoba Beitia 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
