Maguire’s header in the dying embers of the game helped his side to an extra-time to win against which helped them into the semi-finals, where they will face Athletic Bilbao. The England defender has now admitted that the sight of Lyon’s substitutes and coaching staff running on the pitch to celebrate like they had already won the tie changed the mentality of the United squad who knew a comeback was possible.
“They thought they'd won it, the way they were celebrating,’ said Maguire. “That gave us more of an incentive to turn the game around.
“I think the worst feeling was that we felt we'd thrown it away, rather than lost the game at that moment, and how we managed to get ourselves into that situation. Because even going into extra-time at 2-2, the momentum was back with us with the sending-off.
“I've had some amazing moments at this club. I’ve been here six years now and I've had some great times – some bad times as well. I think that game pretty much summed up my time at this club, to be honest!”
The 32-year-old who has worked his way back into the United side under manager Ruben Amorim in recent months then stated that the team must keep up their momentum heading into the semi-finals, where anything is possible.
“It's important we do as well as we can in this competition. Listen, we're only in the semi-final, we're playing Athletic Bilbao.
“I don't know if people are saying they're the favourites to win the competition, but we'll go into it with a great belief to win the game. But we're only in the semi-final, so we don't want to get carried away in terms of winning the competition.”