On a remarkable night at Old Trafford, footage recorded a teenage Manchester United fan’s sorrow turning to pleasure in a matter of minutes.
As time was running out in extra time of the Red Devils’ Europa League quarterfinal second leg against Lyon, the young player was all but distraught.
After two goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Rayan Cherki in the extra session appeared to have sent the Red Devils crashing out of Europe, Bruno Fernandes had given the Premier League team a ray of hope.
With the score 3–4 in favor of the French team, TNT Sports cameras saw a young United fan in the stands fighting back tears.
But after an absolutely insane 60 seconds in which Harry Maguire and Kobbie Mainoo both scored goals to put United in the final four, his suffering—as well as the hundreds of others crammed into Old Trafford—was transformed into joy.
The small youngster, whose face spoke for a whole fan base, was soon located by the broadcaster’s astute camera operator.
With an expression that suggested he was still in shock at what he had seen, Old Trafford rocked around him as he proudly banged his fist after Maguire’s precise header.
‘He’ll remember this for life,’ one Red Devils fan said in X, one among the many comments made about the child on social media.
Another remarked, “The beauty of the game,” while a third jokingly remarked.
‘4-2 with one more player and you believe it’s over,’ claimed United manager Ruben Amorim after the game. It’s never over here, though. It was a wonderful evening as I rewatched the “99” documentary to get ideas for these scenes.
“We felt like we had chances to get back into it, even when it was 3-2,” said Maguire, the winner of the match. ”
I thought there would be another chance as soon as we got the fourth, and happily I was able to put it in the back of the goal. It was an incredible sensation.
Regarding the possibility of winning this competition and going all the way, Mainoo continued, “It was an amazing comeback, but we put ourselves in that situation.”
My only goal when I entered the game was to boost the players’ energy levels. Although the performance wasn’t up to par, a victory like that can generate some momentum.
Athletic Bilbao, whose stadium will host the competition’s final on May 21, will face United in the semi-finals following United’s thrilling victory.