Five things noticed as the first leg of Manchester United’s Europa League quarter-final tie aginst Olympique Lyonnais ended in a dramatic 2-2 draw.
Rúben Amorim chose to name anunchanged starting XI as Manchester United lined-up to face Olympique Lyonnais in France for the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final showdown.
The tie started with the home side having the majority of possession for the opening 20 minutes, but Rasmus Højlund failed to convert the first real chance of the game. Not long after, Bruno Fernandes saw a sharp effort deflected over the bar.
Lyon took the lead after 25 minutes through Thiago Almada after the Argentine’s free-kick cross avoided everyone and tricked André Onana, bouncing past the goalkeeper and into his net. With Lyon growing in confidence, Leny Yoro was able to level the scores just before half-time.
Both sides had half-chances to score in the second half, but neither team was able to find their goal-scoring touch as the tie went on. With Amorim throwing on Joshua Zirkzee and Mason Mount, United pushed for a winner, with Alejandro Garnacho seeing a close-range effort saved by Lucas Perri.
With the clock dwindling, United thought they had finally found their much-needed winning goal as a fantastic delivery from Fernandes found Zirkzee, who headed in from close range, but a finish at the death from Rayan Cherki made sure the sides shared the spoils in France.
#1 – Onana not backing his words
Prior to the fixture, Onana and former United midfielder Nemanja Matic exchanged a series of verbal blows, where the Cameroon international was dubbed the worst goalkeeper in recent United history.
While Onana has somtimes been known to back up his public claims with his performances, this was not one of such occasions as he was at sole fault for Lyon’s opening goal, failing to jduge the flight of the ball and reacting too late after the free-kick bounced.
While he made some simple saves, a lot must be said for Cherki’s goal. Onana parried the initial shot straight into the Frenchman’s path to hand the midfielder a gift of a finish with another moment of shocking goalkeeping.
#2 – Yoro’s first goal a testament to his performances
One positive that United can take from the fixture is Yoro scoring his first goal for United upon his return to France for the first time since he signed for United.
The 19-year-old has been simply superb for the club in the last three months, starting both as a right and left centre-back, and his first strike for the club could not have come at a better time.
More generally, Yoro was fantastic in Lyon. Although the club conceded twice, Yoro completed 50 of his 54 attempted passes, winning his only attempted tackle and making five passes into the final third.
#3 – Højlund failed to kick on
United’s final fixture prior to the March international break saw Rasmus Højlund break a 99-day scoring duck against Leicester City, with the striker following that up with a goal for Denmark against Portugal.
Many hoped the 22-year-old would then kick on, but his performance against Lyon showed that he is still a player void of confidence. He had multiple shots and chances that he wasted, while his link-up play with teammates left much to be desired.
After being substituted in the 63rd minute and replaced by goal-scorer Zirkzee, the Danish striker is not likely to keep his place up front when United face Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
#4 – Mainoo’s return is a huge boost
With just under ten minutes of regulation time left in the fixture, United were handed a major boost as Kobbie Mainoo returned to action after over two months out with injury.
Read More: Player Ratings – Lyon 2-2 Manchester United (Europa League)
The 19-year-old midfielder replaced Garnacho, slotting into the centre alongside Casemiro with Fernandes pushing forward.
He had a part to play in Zirkzee’s goal, doing very well to maintain possession in United’s half before Fernandes swung in the inch-perfect cross for the Dutchman to finish.
#5 – All to play for at Old Trafford
As with any away first leg, United will have wanted to take the fixture back to Old Trafford with their chances for progression intact.
While there is little doubt that Amorim would have been ecstatic with a 2-1 win heading into the second leg, the draw at the end of the game leaves United far from out of the competition.
There are still 90 minutes to play. United have a recent history of conceding first at Old Trafford and went behind within minutes against Real Sociedad in the round of 16, so they had better make sure they do not falter this time around.
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