One Manchester United star proved everyone wrong at Old Trafford as Rúben Amorim’s men pulled off a stunning comeback against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Manchester United pulled off a stunning late comeback to defeat Lyon 7-6 on aggregate and reach the Europa League semi-finals, scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes of extra time.
With the tie level at 2-2 from the first leg, United made a strong start at Old Trafford. Manuel Ugarte opened the scoring after clever build-up from Bruno Fernandes and Alejandro Garnacho, before Diogo Dalot added a second just before half-time.
Lyon fought back in the second half, with Corentin Tolisso and Nicolás Tagliafico levelling the tie. Tolisso was then sent off in stoppage time, giving United a man advantage going into extra time.
Despite that, Lyon went ahead through a brilliant Rayan Cherki strike, and Alexandre Lacazette’s late penalty looked to have sealed it.
But United produced a breathtaking finish—Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty, Kobbie Mainoo curled in a beauty, and Harry Maguire headed home in stoppage time to complete an all-time classic comeback and send Rúben Amorim’s men into the final four.
Ugarte proved everyone wrong vs Lyon
When it was announced that Amorim had chosen to start Ugarte alongside Casemiro, many fans, including this writer, bemoaned the fact that both defensive midfielders were starting on a night where United needed on-the-ball control.
But to Ugarte’s credit, he played a fantastic performance for his 86 minutes on the field, opening the scoring and being generally great on and off the ball.
The Uruguayan international had a 96% pass accuracy, completing 25 of his 26 attempted passes, scoring with his only shot and having 49 touches. He also made three passes into the final third.
As for his defending, Ugarte made two clearances and five interceptions, performing 14 defensive actions and providing six recoveries. He was handed an 8/10 for his performance on the night.
Amorim deserves credit for his selection
Despite many not initially being happy with Ugarte’s selection, Amorim deserves credit for sticking by his player.
Amorim knows Ugarte well from their time together at Sporting CP, and has shown faith in the player’s abilities at a time when fans otherwise would have wanted to see him dropped.
While the club are still set to sign a new defensive midfielder in the coming months, Ugarte has proved that, at worst, he can be a very useful squad player at Old Trafford.
He has shown himself to be a player who often needs to grow into games, but with United looking to dominate possession and have a full pre-season under Amorim, he will hopefully grow into a warrior midfielder at Old Trafford.
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