Ruben Amorim ‘inspired’ by 1999 to stage another Man United miracle in Europe

Thursday’s awe-inspiring comeback against Lyon could only draw comparisons to the Champions League heroics of 1999

Ruben Amorim has pointed to the Champions League heroics of 1999 as his inspiration behind another famous night in Europe for Manchester United.

There are few more famous comebacks in football history than the one staged on that special night at the Nou Camp, as Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer struck in extra time to stun Bayern Munich, overturning their early 1-0 advantage and lifting the most coveted prize on the continent.

Thursday night’s surreal turnaround at Old Trafford drew obvious parallels to 1999. With Lyon 4-2 to the good, United required three goals in extra time to win the tie, and only had six minutes to do so.

But after Bruno Fernandes tucked away his penalty to bring United one from parity, Kobbie Mainoo and Harry Maguire sent Old Trafford into raptures as they bagged in the 120th and 121st minutes, flipping the clash on its head and sending the Red Devils into the last four.

While not exactly on the same magnitude as the famed night in Barcelona, Amorim said the Class of ‘99 motivated him to lead the charge on his own storied comeback.

"I was watching again the 1999 documentary to have some inspiration for these moments," Amorim revealed to TNT Sports after the 5-4 win against 10-man Lyon.

"It was a great night - 4-2 with one more player you think it's over, but here it is never over. I felt here everything is possible."

United looked to be cruising into the semi-finals after taking a 2-0 first-half lead through Diogo Dalot and Manuel Ugarte, only to be pegged back twice in the space of seven minutes as Corentin Tolisso and Nicolas Tagliafico put Lyon back on terms.

There are few more famous comebacks in football history than the one staged on that special night at the Nou Camp in 1999 (EMPICS Sports Photo Agency)

The visitors went into extra time a man down, with Tolisso seeing red for a second bookable offence, but nevertheless managed to bag the next two goals with Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette seeming to take the game out of sight with 11 minutes to play.

But that wasn’t to be for Paulo Fonseca’s side, with Fernandes, Maguire and Mainoo all firing in the dying minutes of extra time to keep United’s dreams of silverware alive.

Amorim’s side will now take on Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League semi-finals, hoping to deny the Basque club a home final at San Mames on May 21.