The front page of Le Progres summed up the mood in Lyon yesterday. Nuit de folie, tristesse infinite. Night of madness, infinite sadness.

No one would dispute the first half of that headline after a night of beautiful bedlam saw Manchester United reach the semi-finals of the Europa League.

The mood at Old Trafford and Carrington was anything but sad, however, as United reflected on a comeback that, even by their standards, almost defied belief.

By Friday morning, it was business as usual at the training ground as the players involved against Lyon had a warm-down and those that were not took part in a full session ahead of tomorrow’s game against Wolves at Old Trafford.

It would be understandable if there were a sense of anti-climax, but Ruben Amorim is keen to harness the spirit shown by his players amid Thursday’s chaos for the rest of the season. That was his final message to them as the celebrations paused briefly in the dressing room afterwards and chief executive Omar Berrada and technical director Jason Wilcox came in to offer their congratulations.

Manchester United reflected on a comeback that, even by their standards, almost defied belief

Ruben Amorim is keen to harness the spirit shown by his players for the rest of the season

A new tifo banner was unveiled before the game with the intention of firing up the atmosphere

Injured players Amad Diallo, Matthijs de Ligt, Lisandro Martinez and Joshua Zirkzee were already there to add to the sense of unity. A night that will go down in Old Trafford folklore had begun with a slight change in step from previous games as United tried to ramp up the atmosphere ahead of kick-off.

Dressing-room DJ Diogo Dalot had been tasked with putting together a compilation of his team-mates’ favourite songs to be played in the stadium as they warmed up, which is why there was more of an international theme than usual.

It still ended with Take Me Home United Road which has been played before kick-off this season at the request of captain Bruno Fernandes, after consulting his team-mates.

‘When we won the FA Cup last season, it was the first song they put on in the dressing room,’ Fernandes told a fans’ group at Old Trafford last week. ‘Sometimes I find myself singing that song in the beginning when I’m waiting for the referee!’

At that meeting, Fernandes was first shown the new tifo banner that was unveiled before the Lyon game, again with the intention of firing up the atmosphere.

‘Never Gonna Stop’ it declared, paying homage to United’s past European glories. The club do not have the set-up within Old Trafford for tifos like many of their European rivals, so approval was sought from the owners to install it in time for the Lyon game.

The Sir Alex Ferguson Stand was chosen as the best site because there wasn’t enough room between the pitch and the Stretford End for a pulley system there.

It set the scene for a night of drama as Lyon recovered from 2-0 down to lead 4-2 in extra time despite having captain Corentin Tolisso sent off. ‘We obviously can’t get done on two counter-attacks like that playing against 10 men. It’s criminal,’ said Maguire.

Chief executive Omar Berrada (right) and technical director Jason Wilcox (left) came into United’s dressing room to offer their congratulations, briefly pausing the celebrations

Amorim threw Harry Maguire up front in extra-time, a move that paid off spectacularly

It was a night of beautiful bedlam but on Friday morning, it was quickly business as usual

At half-time of extra time, Amorim threw the England defender up front and pushed Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo nearer to the Lyon goal, a move that paid off spectacularly. Maguire believes the sight of Lyon’s substitutes and coaching staff celebrating on the pitch also served as an inspiration.

‘They thought they’d won it, the way they were celebrating,’ he added. ‘That gave us more of an incentive to turn the game around.’

United would like to locate the young fan, seen by millions on television, whose tears turned to cheers. Some of the hundreds of supporters who left early watched the drama unfold on TVs from outside the stadium.

Lyon coach Paulo Fonseca admitted his side ‘celebrated way too much’ when they went ahead. Sources describe a scene of devastation in the away dressing room later, particularly for the younger players. 

‘It was the worst game of their lives,’ said one insider.

United’s victory was more dramatic because Noussair Mazraoui and substitute Victor Lindelof both had to leave Old Trafford at half-time due to urgent but unrelated family issues, now resolved.

Amorim confirmed yesterday that both players are available to face Wolves. ‘Everything is OK now,’ said the United boss. ‘There are things more important than football and they will be ready to face the next game.’