Lyon must recover quickly from a devastating loss to Manchester United in the Europa League as they aim to secure a Champions League spot for next season.

The French club, down 2-0 at Old Trafford, mounted a stunning comeback to lead 4-2 in extra time, taking a 6-4 aggregate advantage despite being reduced to 10 men late in regulation. However, United rallied to equalize once more in extra time, with Harry Maguire scoring the winning goal in the 121st minute.

The defeat denied Lyon their first European semi-final appearance since 2020, when they reached the Champions League last four. They now must focus on securing a top-four finish in Ligue 1, with qualification for next season’s Champions League still at stake.

"At 4-2, with 10 minutes left, I think we thought it was done. It hurts," said Corentin Tolisso, who was sent off for a second booking. "It is one of the worst matches in my career. It is really, really tough. I think we deserved better. Now we need to pick ourselves up and digest this because we have a match on Sunday that we absolutely have to win."

Lyon, once Champions League regulars, have not participated in the competition since 2020, when they were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the semi-finals. Their financial troubles make a return to the prestigious tournament crucial.

American owner John Textor fired coach Pierre Sage in January, hiring Paulo Fonseca, who he believed could lead Lyon to a top-four finish in Ligue 1. Despite Fonseca’s nine-month touchline ban following a confrontation with a referee, he has led Lyon to seven wins in their last 10 league matches, leaving them fourth in the standings.

With only five games remaining, Lyon are one point behind third-place Marseille and three points ahead of seventh-place Nice, increasing the pressure on them to qualify for European competition.

"We did magnificent things, showed the quality of our players, but we need to learn from this," Fonseca said after the loss. "It is not easy to come here. I think we proved that we are ready to have an end to the season which matches our ambitions and our quality."

Player to Watch: Ousmane Dembélé
Paris Saint-Germain’s Ousmane Dembélé is hoping to finish the season as Ligue 1’s top scorer. The former Barcelona winger has 32 goals in all competitions, including 21 in Ligue 1. He needs six more goals from PSG's final six matches to equal Kylian Mbappé’s tally of 27 goals last season. Dembélé will look to add to his count against Le Havre on Saturday and Nantes on Tuesday.

Key Stats

• 10: PSG can extend their Ligue 1 win streak to 10 games with a victory over Le Havre, a feat they haven’t achieved since the start of the 2018/19 season.

• 10: Montpellier’s 10-game losing streak could see them relegated this weekend.

• 5: The points separating six teams, from second-place Monaco to seventh-place Nice, in the battle for European spots.

Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday

• Rennes v Nantes (1845)

Saturday

• Paris Saint-Germain v Le Havre (1500)

• Monaco v Strasbourg (1700)

• Marseille v Montpellier (1905)

Sunday

• Lille v Auxerre (1300)

• Nice v Angers

• Brest v Lens

• Reims v Toulouse (all 1515)

• Saint-Étienne v Lyon (1845)