Football makes fools of us all sometimes, never more so than on logic-defying Thursday nights in the Europa League. There has always been an enjoyable looseness to this competition, a sense that the absurd comes more naturally in the second tier of European competition. Its teams are flawed enough to collapse at speed yet good enough to capitalise on fragility.
That is a long-winded way of saying Manchester United’s 5-4 victory over Lyon was quite special. Perhaps TNT Sport’s commentary team of Darren Fletcher, Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Savage put it more eloquently. Here is the transcript of their commentary from the minute or so after Harry Maguire completed a ludicrous comeback, scoring his team’s third goal in six minutes.
Fletcher: “Here’s Casemiro…”
Savage: “MAGUIRE!”
Fletcher: “Into Maguire, ”
(simultaneously)
Ferdinand: “WRRRAOOOOAOGHHHOOO!!!” Savage: “I told ya!” Ferdinand: “Oh my god!” Savage: “I told ya!”
(the following accompanied by soundtrack of loud groans, suggesting Savage and Ferdinand were experiencing graphic episodes of personal pleasure)
Fletcher: “Incredible! Harry Maguire has just scored! One of the most remarkable nights this stadium has ever seen in European competition!”
Ferdinand: “No other sport I know does this, they can’t take you as high as a kite, as low as a snake’s belly.”
HARRY MAGUIRE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚨
Man United have completed the comeback ✅
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/mcNnClCikl
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 17, 2025
At which point Fletcher sensed more dangerously loose similes were in the pipeline. He wisely asked his co-commentator to “settle down for a second and talk me through this”, before a brief panic about Maguire pushing his defender in the build-up. This threatened to make the last minute of broadcasting the most over-the-top premature celebration since the moment in the first half, when Andre Onana bravely ran off towards the Lyon fans to milk his team taking the lead.
There was no fun-killing VAR in this instance. When that was confirmed Savage shouted “GOAL!” like he had off-camera news for Jeff Stelling on Soccer Saturday. “YES!” said Ferdinand, “Yes Harry Maguire!”. It was all a bit YouTube fan channel, and quite the turnaround from Ferdinand who, while United still trailed, had observed with weariness that his old team’s strike partnership was Kobbie Mainoo and Maguire. The pair who would win them the game.
KOBBIE MAINOO. THE SCENES! 🤯🤯
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/mO2hUAFEsf
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 17, 2025
Over on an actual YouTube fan channel, Mark Goldbridge was so overcome with emotion on his watchalong he picked up his mounted light and waved it around a bit, like a social media answer to Lee Sharpe’s corner-flag wrangling. If that looked a bit confected you could not say the same of Savage and Ferdinand’s reactions, nor the sobbing child picked out cruelly at 4-2 down who was being hoisted into their air with joy three goals later.
“People at home will probably realise I’ve lost all semblance of control of you two up here,” said Fletcher. “Let us enjoy it Darren” was Ferdinand’s fair reply. Music to the ears of Manchester United fans, but no less irritating for viewers who were hoping for Lyon to hold on.
This is the future we feared when TV channels decided to lean into fan service over old-fashioned neutrality and it is here now, shrieking and indecipherable. On this occasion though it matched the mood of an incredible moment.
Football makes fools of us all sometimes, never more so than on logic-defying Thursday nights in the Europa League. There has always been an enjoyable looseness to this competition, a sense that the absurd comes more naturally in the second tier of European competition. Its teams are flawed enough to collapse at speed yet good enough to capitalise on fragility.
That is a long-winded way of saying Manchester United’s 5-4 victory over Lyon was quite special. Perhaps TNT Sport’s commentary team of Darren Fletcher, Rio Ferdinand and Robbie Savage put it more eloquently. Here is the transcript of their commentary from the minute or so after Harry Maguire completed a ludicrous comeback, scoring his team’s third goal in six minutes.
Fletcher: “Here’s Casemiro…”
Savage: “MAGUIRE!”
Fletcher: “Into Maguire, ”
(simultaneously)
Ferdinand: “WRRRAOOOOAOGHHHOOO!!!” Savage: “I told ya!” Ferdinand: “Oh my god!” Savage: “I told ya!”
(the following accompanied by soundtrack of loud groans, suggesting Savage and Ferdinand were experiencing graphic episodes of personal pleasure)
Fletcher: “Incredible! Harry Maguire has just scored! One of the most remarkable nights this stadium has ever seen in European competition!”
Ferdinand: “No other sport I know does this, they can’t take you as high as a kite, as low as a snake’s belly.”
HARRY MAGUIRE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚨
Man United have completed the comeback ✅
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/mcNnClCikl
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 17, 2025
At which point Fletcher sensed more dangerously loose similes were in the pipeline. He wisely asked his co-commentator to “settle down for a second and talk me through this”, before a brief panic about Maguire pushing his defender in the build-up. This threatened to make the last minute of broadcasting the most over-the-top premature celebration since the moment in the first half, when Andre Onana bravely ran off towards the Lyon fans to milk his team taking the lead.
There was no fun-killing VAR in this instance. When that was confirmed Savage shouted “GOAL!” like he had off-camera news for Jeff Stelling on Soccer Saturday. “YES!” said Ferdinand, “Yes Harry Maguire!”. It was all a bit YouTube fan channel, and quite the turnaround from Ferdinand who, while United still trailed, had observed with weariness that his old team’s strike partnership was Kobbie Mainoo and Maguire. The pair who would win them the game.
KOBBIE MAINOO. THE SCENES! 🤯🤯
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUKpic.twitter.com/mO2hUAFEsf
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 17, 2025
Over on an actual YouTube fan channel, Mark Goldbridge was so overcome with emotion on his watchalong he picked up his mounted light and waved it around a bit, like a social media answer to Lee Sharpe’s corner-flag wrangling. If that looked a bit confected you could not say the same of Savage and Ferdinand’s reactions, nor the sobbing child picked out cruelly at 4-2 down who was being hoisted into their air with joy three goals later.
“People at home will probably realise I’ve lost all semblance of control of you two up here,” said Fletcher. “Let us enjoy it Darren” was Ferdinand’s fair reply. Music to the ears of Manchester United fans, but no less irritating for viewers who were hoping for Lyon to hold on.
This is the future we feared when TV channels decided to lean into fan service over old-fashioned neutrality and it is here now, shrieking and indecipherable. On this occasion though it matched the mood of an incredible moment.
