Manchester United vs Lyon 6-4: UEFA Europa League – as it happened
All our updates, including post-match reaction and interviews, as Man Utd complete remarkable comeback against Lyon.
This page is now closed, but a summary of the football match is available below and you can go here for our full match report. Thanks for joining us at Al Jazeera Sport.
This page is now closed, but a summary of the football match is available below and you can go here for our full match report. Thanks for joining us at Al Jazeera Sport.
- Manchester United beat Olympique Lyonnais 5-4 after extra time in the second leg of their UEFA Europa League quarterfinal.
- The match at Old Trafford in Manchester, United Kingdom, saw United progress to the semifinals with a 7-6 victory on aggregate.
- The tie is level at 2-2 following the first leg in France last Thursday.
- United are 14th in the English Premier League – 17 points clear of the relegation zone but 16 points off qualification for Europe next season.
- Lyon are fourth in France’s Ligue 1 – one point off the qualification places for next season’s Champions League, for which the winner of this competition qualifies automatically.
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- Live updates
- Match stats
- Lineups
Goodbye for now
That’s it from our live coverage of Manchester United against Lyon.
The comeback kings gave us another night to remember at the Theatre of Dreams – with it their hopes of Champions League football next season.
We hope you enjoyed our service and can join us again on Saturday and Sunday for the thrilling title race in LaLiga.
For now, though – from me, Kevin Hand – it’s goodbye.
We feel you, Ruben Amorim 😅@ManUtd looked down and out in extra time against Lyon, 6-4 down on aggregate in the 114th minute.
But Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire still found time to score to win 7-6 and go through to the Europa League semi-finals! pic.twitter.com/oevZFHXmpl
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 17, 2025
Our match report is now live
Click here for our full match report, including news of Tottenham’s win.
In love with this club
Unbelievable night @ManUtd @EuropaLeague pic.twitter.com/i8wAcD9YIr— Manuel Ugarte (@manuugarte8) April 17, 2025
Next up for Al Jazeera Sport
It’s back to the league on Saturday and Sunday.
We’ll bring you the matches from LaLiga, chasing Real Madrid and Barcelona, respectively, on those days.
Real face United’s semifinal opponents in the Europa League, Athletic Club, on Saturday.
Barcelona face Celta Vigo on Sunday.
The final four in the Europa League
Your semi-finalists 🤝#UEL pic.twitter.com/AZ7FbkBEZt
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 17, 2025
Tottenham also go through
Spurs have done it! ð¥µ#UEL pic.twitter.com/LhvXPqc1E1
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 17, 2025
Leny Yoro’s reaction
“Honestly, I don’t understand what happened. It was crazy. The fans they were crazy and they really helped us to do it,” the United defender told TNT Sports.
“When you hear the fans even at 4-2 you know you can do it. When we scored the penalty [to make it 4-3] I was sure that it was crazy for us to go and win the game.
“If you don’t believe you cannot win. We gave everything.
“This is what the fans deserve. They give everything, no matter our position in the table, so I want to thank them.
“Our target is to win the trophy. We are Manchester United, we need to believe. I am sure we can do it and we will give everything to do it. This game showed everything to the last minute – it was just crazy!”
Bodo Glimt beat Lazio
One other quarterfinal went to extra time, and Lazio have gone out to Bodo Glimt on penalties.
Bodø/Glimt make history 💛#UEL pic.twitter.com/eGzb6zzYPb
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 17, 2025
Man Utd face Athletic Club next
It’s on to Bilbao next for Manchester United where they will face Spanish side Athletic Club.
Marching on to Bilbao with Ruben's Reds 🇪🇸🪜#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/OdVh22Lb85
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2025
Harry Maguire’s post-match reaction
“It was an incredible game, we made really hard work of it,” the United defender told TNT Sports. “We had full control in the second half, had chances to score a third, then they scored out of no where. It put us on the back foot.
“To go down 4-2 in extra-time to 10 men is not good enough, we opened ourselves too much. But we dug in and showed great spirit, that’s what this stadium does.
“I felt like the fourth goal for them was a sucker punch but that we’d get chances to get back into it. It fell to myself and thankfully, I scored, it was an amazing feeling.”
‘One moment can change a lot of things’
“It’s one type of moment that can change a lot of things. We can look at the physical and tactical aspect, but these types of moments can change a lot in the players’ minds,” Amorim continued in conversation with TNT Sports after the game.
“We will have to be focused in the Europa League. We have to take a risk with the kids in the Premier League and the fans have to understand that we have to focus on the Europa League.
“You can see in the stadium. Everybody in the moment can believe it is possible [to win the Europa League]. We need to be a little lucky with the injuries with some players – it is going to be tough.
“I had one final in my career and we lost it, so let’s change that.
“If you see the goals of Mainoo and Maguire, the sound of the stadium was the best sound I ever heard.
“A lot of people want to keep a lot of things, like shirts, I just want to keep that sound – it’s the best sound in the world.
“When you turn to the fans and they are crazy – I just feel for the people who had to leave at 4-2 for the traffic. They will be gutted.
“It is a special moment. We know we are underperforming. We deserve all the criticism, but we still have time to make something special of this season. We have to think like that and be positive.”
More from Amorim
On the finale to the season and players returning from injury: “It’s really important because playing Europa League and Premier League is really hard without a full squad – it is almost impossible.
“Luke Shaw was only meant to play 30 minutes but we had a problem with Mazraoui at half-time – he had a personal problem and had to leave.
“We start well, but we are not really consistent enough to maintain the game in the same way for a long period of time.
“Then, when I feel that the team is a little bit tired, we drop a lot, but we have experience against Man City and Arsenal – we can defend quite well in these moments.
“We should have done better for Lyon’s goals, we have a lot to improve, but the character was there.
“The reflection of the coach is the league. You can be good in Europe, but in the league, we are underperforming.
“You have to look at the context, you can see that we lack a lot of characteristics in our team.
“You can seek out Garnacho, he’s really tired, but he is the only one that can make transitions.”
On whether United are struggling physically: “When we play against European teams, we can cope better with that, but with that. In the league, we suffer a lot. We can play good, but sometimes, to create chances in the Premier League, it is different, but we managed to release players to run one against one with three defenders at the back; we managed to do it today.”
Ruben Amorim’s reaction
“It was hard and I was watching again the 1999 [Champions League final] documentary to have some inspiration for this moment,” the Manchester United manager told TNT Sports.
“It was a great night. The team was tired, and you felt in the game. At 4-2 down, with one more player, you think it was over, but here it is never over.
“I felt that here everything is possible, and then you feel the environment [in the stadium]. Then, after 4-3, you felt you could change the game.
“We tried to put Maguire up front, because he is the only guy that can score a goal with his header. Then we put Mainoo, but he has a lack of pace at the moment because he had an injury and stopped for a while. But he is really good in short spaces and then, he has the ability to score that kind of goal. We tried and sometimes it works, and today was a good day.”
Ruben Amorim’s moment
The knives were drawn, but at the 11th hour, Ruben Amorim and Manchester United are still able to dream of silverware this season and Champions League football next.
Same, Ruben.#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/txGYyOJQRF
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2025
The tale of the tape
Here is the minute-by-minute breakdown of the goals.
Five goals in 16 minutes turned the game one way, then another.
WHAT A GAME. #UEL pic.twitter.com/F0GlHggkjh
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) April 17, 2025
The full-time scene
I’m not sure the players could believe it.
We’ll have Harry Maguire’s reaction soon.
Into the semi-finals!#MUFC || #UEL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2025
‘What is happening?’
Well, if they don’t know, then how could we?
Even Manchester United’s account couldn’t keep up with the team:
We missed the Kobbie goal graphic in the madness but Mainoo levelled it up and then HARRY MAGUIRE headed in to make it 5-4!
What is happening?! ð€¯#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/iD1T3hcY2u
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) April 17, 2025
The Theatre of Dreams comes to life
We know it was likely to be a rollercoaster, but who writes the scripts for this club?
This season has plummeted to some of the club’s lowest on-field moments.
Their campaign was coming crashing to an end.
There is disbelief mixed with euphoria all over the pitch and all around Old Trafford.
The new stadium will have a lot to live up to – both on and off the field.
Full-time: Man Utd reach the semifinals!
It’s over. It’s incredible. It’s season season-changing and maybe career-saving for Rubin Amorim.
Manchester United have just completed one of the greatest comebacks in their history, at perhaps one of their most desperate hours.
Full-time after extra time: Manchester United 5-4 Olympique Lyonnais
Lyon’s last dance
The ball is pumped forward into the box but United break to the halfway line after heading clear.
There’s only second to go.
120+7 mins: Man Utd 5-4 Lyon
This is one of the most Man Utd performances
Lyon are knocking on the door one last time, but Old Trafford is witnessing one of its greatest nights.
The scenes, the sounds, the emotions – it’s an unbelievable cauldron of football at the Theatre of Dreams.
120+6 mins: Man Utd 5-4 Lyon