New Delhi: The Red Devils put up an absolute thriller of a show last night against Lyon. Their comeback victory may well go down as one of the greatest comebacks in the history of Europa League. Amorim took a big breath and provided some insight while sitting in the Old Trafford media room around an hour after his players had been swarming the pitch, soaking up their accomplishment after rallying from a 4-2 deficit with six minutes of extra time left to pull off a thrilling triumph. After his team’s incredible 5–4 comeback victory over Lyon, Ruben Amorim made a rather important remark.
“This kind of moment can help the players a lot in this kind of season,” the Portuguese head coach said. “It can create some connection with the fans and the players and we can forget for a few minutes what kind of season we are having.
“Today is a good feeling but tomorrow we start everything again.”
United will begin their home preparations for Wolves on Friday. Their manager, Vitor Pereira, was in the Old Trafford stands when the Europa League epic began, but he had left before the dramatic conclusion, like many other fans. Pereira is aware that his team benefits from the result. United need to bounce back from this exhausting ordeal. Amorim alluded to modifications being made to safeguard weary players. Wolves might have to contend with a significantly diminished squad.
“We have to take a risk and save some players,” said Amorim. “If you look at our season, the most important thing for everybody is Europa League.”
What does this win mean to Amorim and United?
Harry Maguire of Manchester United celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 5-4 during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 Quarter Final Second Leg match between Manchester United and Olympique Lyonnais at Old Trafford. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
To be fair, it’s safe to say that United are still far from their best. However, there was something special that they portrayed last night against Lyon. In a season full of disappointments, there was a slight spark of hope that the United fans could see and a lot of it had to do with the player’s “never say die” attitude. Lyon were just relentless with their firepower upfront, constantly knocking the doors of that shaky United backline, but the Red Devils just didn’t sit back and produced a fantastic response.
It is too early to say that the United are back on track. They did show great character and managed to get the job done against Lyon, but they seemed highly exposed at the back yet again. Amorim’s backline is still leaking a lot of goals and it is something that has been their problem all along, but their mentality has to be praised. However, that is not how it was intended to be in this day and age of micromanaged coaching, when every aspect is evaluated.
For Amorim, the coach who talked about needing to train his players to operate in a particular tactical manner but whose main strategy to achieve his most exciting United triumph was to push the big guy up front and lump it up, it is definitely not supposed to be this way. With a goal Old Trafford will never forget, Harry Maguire delivered. Subsequently, Amorim attempted to minimise the importance of his tactical change.
“In these moments, it’s something really important, I see Harry Maguire as a striker. I see one guy inside the box. He’s a striker, not a defender. He knows how to behave in that space,” Amorim said after the game.
Thus, with five weeks of this absurd season remaining, United continue in their haphazard manner, unsure of how it will all turn out. Either glory or shame may be the end of United’s season. No middle ground exists. This was not how it was intended to be. However, that is their reality.
What does the remaining season has to offer?
United currently sit 14th in the Premier League table and it is clear that Europa League is the only real chance of them winning silverware. The fitness of their key players will determine the team’s selection for Wolves and, subsequently, for travels to Bournemouth and Brentford. We won’t take a chance. The outcomes, which haven’t been terrific to begin with, may as well suffer as a result. The loss of Premier League prize money, which is almost £3 million each position, may make United’s current 14th spot even worse.
United will receive tens of millions of pounds and qualify for the Champions League if they win the Europa League. They might have much less to work with than they initially believed if they don’t. On the plus side, this game’s historic conclusion demonstrated that United’s players are resilient. Having inherited the club’s ‘never-say-die’ DNA, they possess a great deal of character and are prepared to sacrifice everything for the cause.
However, the drawbacks will persist eventually As mentioned earlier, they frequently continue to give away subpar goals one after another. When they should take a chance, they don’t. The nerve-racking, head-splitting, frantic conclusion would not have been necessary if Alejandro Garnacho or Patrick Dorgu had done so in the second half, when the score was 2-0 against Lyon.
Any improvement could be undermined by the weaknesses at any time. At what point can United be relied upon to not waste a winning position? All it does is increase the perception of danger.
After a resilient comeback win against Lyon, United’s turbulent season has finally seen some light of hope. However, it might be too early to say that they are back to their best. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
