JOSHUA ZIRKZEE sent a blunt message to Manchester United fans who left Old Trafford early during their Europa League epic with Lyon.
The Red Devils roared into a seemingly comfortable 2-0 first-half lead but threw it away and went 4-2 down in extra time, before remarkably coming back to win the game 5-4 and the tie 7-6 on aggregate with three goals in the final 10 minutes.
Fan footage on social media showed how scores of fans had left Old Trafford when ex-Arsenal star Alexandre Lacazette stepped up to score his penalty in extra time to give the French outfit a two-goal cushion.
However, when captain Bruno Fernandes then netted United’s third on the night, many rushed back into the stadium or were forced to watch the game outside the Theatre of Dreams.
And the stadium was left in pandemonium when Kobbie Mainoo netted an injury-time equaliser, which then went to new heights when Harry Maguire nodded home the winner.
Ruben Amorim’s side was without stricken striker Zirkzee in the clash, after the Dutchman pulled up with injury against Newcastle at the weekend – which the manager confirmed was likely the end of his season.
But the £36.5million signing from Bologna was present at the stadium for the dramatic second leg of the quarter-final.
Taking to Instagram, he shared a video of the deafening noise inside Old Trafford as the United faithful cheered on the team.
And in a swipe at the fans who left early he captioned the video: “To all the fans who left when we were down. Have a listen to this.”
Despite being unable to feature in Thursday’s clash, Zirkzee had climbed off the bench in the first leg to score an apparent winner in France as he guided a header home last on before an inexplicable Andre Onana mistake.
Mainoo, with whom Zirkzee seems to have forged a close bond during their time together, brought the 23-year-old’s signature move to life after his late equaliser.
With the academy graduate, who turns 20 on Saturday, and Maguire both scoring in injury time, they saw the game break two records.
The first marked the first time five goals have been scored in extra time of a major European competition, and the second made United the first team ever to score two goals in the 120th minute of a major European match.
Amorim told TNT Sports after the game he had watched some of the 99 documentary for inspiration before labelling the unbelievable match a “great night”.
He said: “I was watching again the 1999 documentary to have some inspiration for these moments.”
“It was a great night – 4-2 with one more player you think it’s over, but here it is never over. I felt here everything is possible.”
However, the 40-year-old also had a harsh reality check for his squad after admitting they need to focus on Europa League.
He said: “The reflection of the coach is the league. You can be good in European games but your reflection as a team is in the league and we are underperforming, but then we have to see the context.
“We lack a lot of characteristics in our team – sometimes you want to push forward and you see that Garnacho is really tired but he’s the only one who can make transitions.
“Physically is it a problem. When we play against European teams you can see we cope better with that – in the Premier League we suffer a lot.”
He continued: “It is one type of moment that can change a lot of things. These kind of moments can change a lot in the players’ mind.
“We have to be really focused on the Europa League and we have to take a risk with the kids in the Premier League.
“We have to be tough on that and the fans have to understand our focus is on the Europa League.”
Man Utd will face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-finals of the competition, with those matches commencing on May 1 and May 8 with the latter once again being at home.
However, the last time Man Utd beat the Spanish outfit was in February 1957, with Sir Alex Ferguson losing twice to them when they played one another in 2012.
Before that, Man Utd will host Wolves at Old Trafford on Sunday with the visitors arriving undefeated in the league since February, including four wins on the bounce.
Wolves have not done the double over the 20-time champions of England since the 1979/80 season, but following a 2-0 at Molineux earlier this season Vitor Pereira’s side have the chance to make history.
Man Utd ratings vs Lyon
MANCHESTER UNITED scored three goals in seven unbelievable minutes to beat Lyon in one of the all-time great nights at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils looked to be putting in one of their best displays since Ruben Amorim took over as they raced into a 2-0 lead.
But after conceding one goal, they let the ground slip from under them, quickly giving away another to allow Lyon to take the game to extra time.
Not even a red card for Corentin Tolisso could get United out of their slump as the French side completely dominated most of the additional 30 minutes.
Rayan Cherki and an Alexandre Lacazette penalty meant the visitors looked home and hosed before Casemiro was fouled and Bruno Fernandes hit home from the spot.
Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire then both netted in stoppage time of extra time to secure a scarcely believable win.
Here’s how SunSport’s Phil Thomas rated the United stars on a night that went from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again.
Read the full article here
