Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim described the noise of the Old Trafford crowd as the “best sound I’ve ever heard” after Harry Maguire’s last-minute winner sealed a comeback victory over Lyon.
Maguire headed home in the 121st minute as United came from 4-2 down to win 5-4 — 7-6 on aggregate — and progress to the Europa League semi-finals.
United had trailed by two goals with just six minutes of extra time remaining, before Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Maguire completed a dramatic turnaround.
“If you see the goals from Kobbie and Harry Maguire, the sound of the stadium was the best sound I’d ever heard,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “You want to keep that. People want to keep a lot of things, (like) shirts. And I just want to keep that sound, it’s the best sound in the world.”
He continued: “I was watching the 99 (Champions League-winning) documentary to have some inspiration for this moment.
“The team was tired, you could feel it during the game and then 4-2 with one more player and you think it’s over. But here, it’s never over. Everything is possible. You feel the environment. After Bruno’s penalty, you felt that the game could change.”
United celebrate Maguire’s last-minute winner (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
United had led 2-0 at half time through Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot, but Lyon fought back to force extra time following two goals in the space of seven second-half minutes.
The Ligue 1 side then took a 4-2 lead in the first half of extra-time, despite being reduced to 10 men in the 88th minute after Corentin Tolisso’s red card.
Striker Rasmus Hojlund was replaced by Mainoo in the final stages of normal time, with the central midfielder going up front and later being joined by centre-back Maguire as United attempted to find a goal. Fernandes netted a penalty before Mainoo levelled the score in the 120th minute, and Maguire sealed the victory with a 121st-minute winner.
On his unconventional strike force, Amorim explained: “We tried to put Harry Maguire (up front) because he’s the only guy that can score a goal with his head.
“And then Kobbie Mainoo has a lack of pace in this moment because he had that injury and he stopped for a while. But he’s really good in small spaces and then he has the ability to score that kind of goal. We tried, sometimes it works and today was a good day.”
With the Europa League United’s last remaining hope of silverware this season, Amorim confirmed United would “take a risk” with younger players in the Premier League to concentrate their efforts on Europe.
United will play Athletic Club in May’s semi-finals. Amorim’s side return to action on Sunday against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League.
