Manchester United have something special lined up for their season-defining Europa League quarter-final second leg tie against Olympique Lyonnais on Thursday.
The Red Devils should have come back from France with a win but for Andre Onana’s two errors which meant the Ligue 1 side claimed a draw in the end.
Given the dismal Premier League campaign, United’s season is literally riding on their performance on Thursday with the Europa League representing not only their last chance at silverware but also their final shot at Champions League qualification.
Players have urged the Old Trafford faithful to create a special atmosphere, just like they did against Real Sociedad in the previous round, and it looks like the club have listened.
Special atmosphere planned
According to the club, fans have been urged to arrive early in order build up the atmosphere inside the ground while for the first-time ever, a ‘tifo’ banner will be unveiled in front of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.
To come up with the concept of the tifo, the club sat down with fan representatives and even skipper Bruno Fernandes was involved.
The exact idea and image remains under wraps while pyrotechnics have also been planned in an even larger manner than what happened in the previous round.
“To enhance the atmosphere and inspire our team, a first-ever ‘tifo’ banner will be unveiled in front of the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.
First-ever Tifo banner
“The club worked with fan representatives on the idea and image. It was then shared with Bruno Fernandes to get the captain’s seal of approval.
“The ‘tifo’ will be raised from the ground to the roof, in front of the halfway line, creating a spectacular moment ahead of kick-off in M16.
“Red-and-white pyrotechnics will also appear adjacent to the banner, in a larger display than the one seen before the win over Real Sociedad in the previous round.”
Now for the players to show their worth when it matters and make it a night to remember. All eyes on The Theatre of Dreams.
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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
