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| BBC Report UEFA Report | |||||||
| Event | 2024–25 UEFA Europa League | ||||||
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| Date | Thursday 17 April 2025 | ||||||
| Venue | Old Trafford, Manchester | ||||||
| Referee |  Sandro Schärer (Switzerland) | ||||||
| Weather | 12 °C (53 °F) Humidity:50% Wind:3 km/ h | ||||||
← Man Utd - Newcastle Lyon - Auxerre Man Utd - Wolves Lyon - Saint-Étienne → | |||||||
Manchester United v Lyon was a match which took place at the Old Trafford on Thursday 17 April 2025. The match was shown live on live on 
at 8:00pm BST.
Match Report[]
Manchester United dragged their season out of the ashes in quite extraordinary fashion as they scored twice in the final minute of extra time to complete a staggering comeback from 4-2 down against 10-man Lyon at Old Trafford.
United appeared to be heading out of the competition in the worst possible manner as they tossed away a two-goal lead in the space of seven minutes before conceding twice in extra time.
Supporters were streaming for the exits in their droves but Bruno Fernandes breathed new life into United when he converted a penalty six minutes from time after a video assistant referee intervention for a foul on Casemiro that had initially gone unpunished.
With Old Trafford a cauldron of noise, Kobbie Mainoo somehow kept his cool to curl an equaliser into the corner of the Lyon goal as the tie entered its final minute.
That was extraordinary. But there was no inclination to settle for penalties from the hosts.
In front of legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was watching on from the stands, United produced an ending right out of his 1999 Champions League-winning playbook as Casemiro lifted the ball into the penalty area and makeshift centre-forward Harry Maguire rose to send it arcing into the corner.
Cue pandemonium as substitutes, the substituted and anyone else who could get there joined in the celebrations.
It was up there with the most famous games this stadium has ever seen and means Ruben Amorim's side now face a semi-final with Athletic Bilbao.
Sometimes, it is pointless trying to make sense of this game.
Ferguson's famous 'Football, Bloody Hell' comment after the 1999 Champions League final victory over Bayern Munich, which featured two injury-time goals to win it, sprang to mind as Maguire headed off down the tunnel at the end of the game.
Amorim responded to his goal by chasing off down the touchline, just as Jose Mourinho famously did when Porto won in this stadium in 2004. Rio Ferdinand, commentating for TNT Sport, was shown jumping up and down with delight.
Most United fans would have felt the same.
In the cold light of day, United still have a semi-final to play - and, possibly, an all-English final with Tottenham - before they can claim a Champions League place by winning the Europa League and grabbing some silverware to at least make this desperate campaign a success.
But it will be a while before the memories of what happened fade.
The plans are to replace this stadium, that is over 100 years old and has played host to the Busby Babes, the Holy Trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton, double and Treble winners, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.
This team are not a patch on those. But this single game stands alongside any those illustrious predecessors produced as one of the very best.
It is Amorim's job to piece through the ridiculous events that unfolded at Old Trafford.
He will know that, for 70 minutes, United produced arguably their best performance under him as Manuel Ugarte and Diogo Dalot put them within touching distance of a place in the last four.
But they were made to pay for the failure to take one of numerous chances to score a tie-sealing third and then simply tossed away their advantage.
The start of their unravelling was a straightforward free-kick into the box. Former Arsenal striker Alexandre Lacazette got a flick on and Corentin Tolisso nipped ahead of Leny Yoro to head home.
The goal seemed to suck all the certainty and purpose out of the home side. Substitute Malick Fofana began to threaten and Thiago Almada skied an excellent chance over from the edge of the area,
But United were rocking and they were unable to stabilise themselves before the French visitors levelled.
This time there was an English element as Ainsley Maitland-Niles let fly with cross-shot that fizzed to Nicolas Tagliafico at the far post. Unmarked, the Argentina defender scuffed his effort but Andre Onana, scrambling desperately across his goal, could not prevent the ball crossing the line.
It was a seven-minute spell that summed up everything that is bad about Amorim's team.
From that point on, with substitute Mainoo operating as a false nine and Mason Mount in support, the home side were simply no threat, not even after Tolisso had been unluckily dismissed for accidently tripping Yoro.
Even a man down, there was greater purpose about Lyon and it was no real surprise when man of the match Rayan Cherki put the visitors ahead from the edge of the area in the first period of extra time.
The jubilation that followed that goal was nothing compared to the celebrations after Lacazette sent Onana the wrong way from the spot after Yoro and Luke Shaw had combined to upend Fofana inside the penalty area.
United appeared to be heading out. There was going to be no European football next season for only the second time since English clubs returned to Europe in 1990 following the Heysel tragedy. The financial cost of missing out on the Champions League is immense.
But Amorim and his players were not done. In the end, the glory was all theirs.
Match[]
Details[]
| 17 April 2025 20:00 12 °C (53 °F) live on |
Manchester United 
|
5–4 (a.e.t.) |
 Lyon
|
Old Trafford, Manchester Referee: Sandro Schärer (Switzerland) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ugarte  10'Dalot 45+1'Fernandes 114' (pen.)Mainoo 120'Maguire 120+1'
|
BBC Report UEFA Report |
Tolisso 71'   45+1', 89'Lacazette 78'Cherki 104'Lacazette 109' (pen.)
|
          Manchester United
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    Lyon
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Match Stats[]
| Overall | Manchester United | Lyon |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 5 | 4 |
| Total shots | 21 | 21 |
| Shots on target | 8 | 9 |
| Ball possession | 41% | 59% |
| Corner kicks | 7 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 17 | 14 |
See also[]
External links[]
| Manchester United F.C. matches - 2024–25 |
| 2024–25 Premier League |
|
Fulham (h) · Liverpool (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (h) · Chelsea (h) · Arsenal (a) · Manchester City (a) · Newcastle United (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (a) · Everton (a) · Arsenal (h) · Manchester City (h) · Chelsea (a) · Aston Villa (h) |
| 2024–25 FA Cup |
| Arsenal (a) · |
| 2024–25 EFL Cup |
| Barnsley (h) · Leicester City (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (a) |
| 2024–25 UEFA Europa League |
| Twente (h) · Porto (a) · Fenerbahçe (a) · PAOK (h) · Bodø/Glimt (h) · Viktoria Plzeň (a) · Rangers (h) · FCSB (a) · Real Sociedad (a) · Real Sociedad (h) · Lyon (a) · Lyon (h) · Athletic Bilbao (a) · Athletic Bilbao (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (n) |
| 2024 FA Community Shield |
| Manchester City (n) |
| Friendly Matches |
| Rosenborg (a) · Rangers (n) · Arsenal (n) · Real Betis (n) · Liverpool (n) · ASEAN All Stars (a) · Hong Kong (a) |