Man Utd news: Opinion – The night that launched Ruben Amorim’s reign?

You would be forgiven if you mistook a Europa League quarter-final for a Champions League semi-final at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

I am only 25, but I have experienced plenty of magical moments in my time as a Manchester United season ticket-holder, even across the club’s decade of decline.

Last season’s FA Cup triumph over Liverpool comes to mind as the showreel’s piece de resistance, but United 5-4 against Lyon may have topped it.

I have never seen the Theatre of Dreams like it. And that was what it was, just six minutes after Alexandre Lacazette’s penalty turned it into the ‘Theatre of Nightmares’.

There was utter despair at 4-2 down in the 114th minute. The curtains started to close on another disastrous season, and Ruben Amorim looked set for another hit on his credentials.

Then the emptying stands started to fill again when Bruno Fernandes’ penalty offered a glimmer of hope against the 10 men of Lyon.

The unhinged bedlam after Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire completed a near-impossible turnaround in the 120th and 121st minutes highlighted why football is the greatest sport.

Was it the night that launched Amorim’s reign? Even if United do not go on to lift the Europa League, the impact such nights can have must not be underestimated.

It feels so significant. The contrasting emotions between that Lacazette dagger and the madness that later erupted are incredible and could be the spark this vulnerable coach needed.

Amorim and many of those players have now experienced Old Trafford at its best, at its loudest. They now know what they will get back from success-starved supporters if they are the ones to stop the rot.

Wolves on Sunday feels like an after thought, as does the trip to Bournemouth a week later.

All eyes are already on 1 May, when United’s still-unbeaten European run leads them to Bilbao.

Find more from Alex Turk at Turk Talks FC