Lyon went from the dream to the nightmare on Thursday in Old Trafford, mowed 5-4 at the end of an extension where he led two goals, to ten against eleven, before letting Manchester United spoke in the Europa League semi-finals.
The “Red Devils” won an epic, evil, historic and breathtaking battle against Lyonnais passed by all emotions, until the terrible disillusionment of elimination.
OL collected two goals in the first period, operated on a fantastic rise in seconds, lost its Captain Corentin Tolisso on red card just before an infernal extension, where it scored two goals before collecting three.
The “Theater of Dreams”, nickname of the legendary Old Trafford stadium, has regained its consistency for a match in the heart of a gloomy season for the current fourteenth of the Premier League, which has only the Europa League to intoxicate its supporters.
Ruben Amorim’s team will face Athletic Bilbao next month, with the hope of climbing to the final and winning, in the event of a victory, the precious qualifying ticket for the Champions League.
To play it next season, the Lyonnais will have to continue their mission in Ligue 1 after having erased this incredible outing in the north of England.
Rayan Cherki (105th, 3-2) and Alexandre Lacazette (110th, 4-2), on a penalty, believed to offer their noisy supporters a dream final, but the Red Devils sent them to hell with a penalty by Bruno Fernandes (114th) and Kobbie Mainoo (120th) and Harry Maguire goals (120th+1).
These three stabbings represented the last dramatic moment of a meeting which experienced multiple throughout an evening with twists and turns, where each team dominated the other in turn.
The Lyonnais first sinned by tenderness and naivety, was taken in default by long balls in the back, often, and perhaps was also taken, a little, by the stake of a summit which they are not used to competing.
Ten minutes were enough to Manchester to punish the visitors, surprised by a sautéed opening of Ussair Mazraoui towards Bruno Fernandes, a good control oriented from Rasmus Hojlund then a center back from the Danes to Manuel Ugarte, left alone (10th, 1-0).
On a long ball, again, Maguire found Diogo Dalot in the surface, the Portuguese put his body in opposition before Nicolas Tagliafico and triggered, falling, a shot entered with the help of a post (45th+1).
The same dalot had sent a long distance pass earlier for Captain Fernandes, author of a sublime stolen on the transverse bar (36th).
And unlike the first leg, where Andre Onana had faulted twice on the Lyon goals (2-2), the Cameroonian goalkeeper has long been intractable when the French managed to create the danger.
He marked his territory with an authoritarian outing, a hand forward (17th), he slammed a head of Paul Akouokou (22nd) after a corner of Rayan Cherki, and ended a ride whose French dribbler has the secret (32nd).
In the second half, he was still there to dismiss a pivot shot from Corentin Tolisso (54th) and a missile from Ainsley Maitland-Niles (75th).
However, the pressure was enormous on him, after a controversy preceding the first leg (he had judged his team “best” than OL), his errors at the Groupama Stadium and his sidelining last weekend in the championship, officially to allow him to oxygen.
The Lyon supporters whistled it and insulted it from the first minutes, and the goalkeeper came to celebrate the opening of the scoring in front of them, with a room gesture and a small dance.
The visitor parcage found all his voice when Tolisso (71st, 2-1) and Nicolas Tagliafico (78th, 2-2) presented OL to Flots. But it died after a night, ultimately tragic night.
