Forgive some of the soppy language, but Thursday night marked a first for this correspondent in that it was the first time I became remotely emotional in the press box. Call it empathetic emotion. Not at Kobbie Mainoo's equaliser on the two-hour mark or Manchester United's most improbable comeback since Camp Nou in 1999. But at the joy etched on the young lad's face at United's recovery. We had seen him earlier, on the verge of tears, imploring someone to provide deliverance when United were on the verge of sinking into the abyss. As an adult, you entirely empathise with those contrasting emotions. We used to be that wide-eyed child for whom the world had ended if their team had suffered a shattering defeat. He'll have had quite the night in M16. Just as well that the next day was Good Friday and the school was out. That is what sport can do. On the drive home, speaking to my father, I mentioned that it was the first time United had won a game 5-4 since the Busby Babes' last match in England at Highbury on February 1, 1958. He reminded me that my grandad was in attendance for that. That struck an emotional chord. That was the beauty of United's win. The emotion. Some colleagues were attempting to analyse the game afterwards in the press conference room. One was lamenting Patrick Dorgu's performance. Last night was not the night for such mundane musings. Andy Gray, of all people, encapsulated the aura of Old Trafford more than 22 years ago, commentating on Diego Forlan's 93rd-minute winning volley against Chelsea: "Talk about a late, late show at Old Trafford. Don't leave this ground early. You might miss something." Hundreds still sought to avoid the traffic congestion on Thursday night. United won by abandoning their shape, their system and all logic. They played on the emotion of the occasion. They were minutes away from a trophyless season and no European football next season. They scored three goals without a striker. My colleague, Tyrone Marshall, called it. "They're gonna do this," he predicted. He uttered those four words either before or after Bruno Fernandes caressed his penalty into the corner. It was a task keeping up with the score, never mind recalling who said what and when. Even the poorest United sides have provided fans with some of their best nights at the 115-year-old stadium. Lyon topped the chaos against Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-final for the ages last season. This season and last have been the worst United teams in my lifetime and yet they retain the core ethos of the club. There have been seven added-time wins since the start of last season: Brentford, Fulham, Wolves, Liverpool, Rangers, Leicester and Lyon. Lyon was the highest-scoring European match at Old Trafford. The nine goals were the most in a home United European tie since their first, a 10-0 shellacking of Anderlecht at Maine Road in 1956. Football heritage, Jose Mourinho might say. The England cricket managing director Rob Key recently said that you see a lot more on TV. One disagrees. A few men in hi-vis jackets were on the stadium's roof to disassemble the mechanisms that unfurled United's first tifo. They better have got down before full-time as United fans threatened to take the roof off. The Lyon analysts, seething over Corentin Tolisso's red card, wildly celebrated Rayan Cherki and Alexandre Lacazette's goals. Sevilla's analysts were warned by a steward seven years ago when they eliminated United but the Lyon pair were much more partisan. Their lack of press box etiquette was bad enough. Worse than that was they had got swept up in the emotion. They evidently felt it was job done. So did the over-celebrating Lyon players. When Kobbie Mainoo equalised, a couple of Mancunians ran up to the Frenchmen, suddenly very sheepish. The same lads seemed intent on making a beeline for them again after Harry Maguire's header yet the euphoria of that moment almost caused them to tumble over as they hurtled down the gangway. Other United supporters bid adieu to the Lyon dignitaries in the directors' box who had also shown little restraint after they went ahead in extra time. "The sound of the last two goals were amazing," Ruben Amorim enthused. "That is something we can keep for the future, was a good feeling. "In this stadium and in this club you always have that feeling that anything can happen and today was another day like that." Amorim added "that's why we like this sport so much". We don't. We love it.