Update: Saint-Etienne fans send Man United cheeky message as tempers flare in Ligue 1 clash with Lyon News

Fierce rivals Saint-Etienne and Lyon have met this evening just days after Man United defeated the visitors in the Europa League

Saint-Etienne supporters have cheekily thanked Manchester United centre-back Harry Maguire after his heroics against their fierce rivals Lyon in the Europa League.

Maguire sealed what was one of the craziest comebacks at Old Trafford with a close-range header which sent the Reds through to the semi-finals of the competition. Despite having ten men, the Ligue 1 club were 4-2 up on the night with ten minutes remaining only for Bruno Fernandes’ penalty, Kobbie Mainoo’s strike and the aforementioned Maguire header won the game.

The jubilant scenes in Manchester were matched in Saint-Etienne who hold a fierce rivalry with their neighbours who are less than 40 miles away. Coincidentally, Les Verts, who are battling to avoid relegation to Ligue 2, face Lyon this evening.

Not wanting to miss an opportunity to rile the Lyon fans, two supporters decided to create a unique message thanking Maguire for his goal. Both supporters adorned a Saint-Etienne shirt with one having ‘Merci, 5’ on his shirt and the other having ‘Maguire, 4’ on theirs.

This is of course in reference to the scoreline on Thursday night which will undoubtedly still hurt the Lyon supporters. Tempers in France would flare up on Sunday in an unconnected incident.

With Saint-Etienne leading 1-0 thanks to Lucas Stassin’s goal, the match was suspended after one of the assistant referees was struck by an object. The game was halted for approximately half an hour as the assistant received treatment with the game resuming at 10.15pm local time.

While Saint-Etienne supporters were planning their own tribute to Maguire, the English centre-back received a good reception from the home faithful at Old Trafford on Sunday. The defender was rested for the visit of Wolverhampton Wanderers but was given a hearty applause when he warmed up on the touchline.

Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for the Reds on Sunday as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against the now safe Wolves. Pablo Sarrabia’s free-kick was the difference between the two sides with the West Midlands club now level on points with United.

United return to the Europa League next month when they travel to Athletic Bilbao for the semi-final first leg. The return leg will be at Old Trafford a week later on May 8.

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