Manchester United will head into their Europa League round of 16 second leg tie on Thursday needing to overturn Liverpool’s two goal advantage.
The Reds are in a difficult position after last week’s disappointing opener in which Jurgen Klopp’s men were the dominant side and deserving of their victory.
United now need to score at least twice to keep the tie alive, but will need even more goals if Liverpool can score an elusive away goal- something Louis van Gaal’s men could not manage in the first leg.
However, the Reds have found themselves in even more precarious positions in the last couple of seasons, and have always put up a fight to remain in European competition- even whilst David Moyes was in charge of the club.
Whether the Reds can complete an unlikely comeback remains to be seen, but fans can at least look to past results for hope against Liverpool.
Let’s take a look at United’s last five European second leg ties:
United 5-1 Midtjylland, February 2016
Just three weeks ago, Manchester United managed to overcome a first leg defeat to progress in the Europa League.
That time around the Reds had scored an away goal though, trailing 2-1 from the first leg, and were facing a significantly weaker side in FC Midtjylland.
The Danish outfit had taken the lead at Old Trafford but scored an own goal soon after, and were then comfortably undone by the Reds. Marcus Rashford’s debut brace, an Ander Herrera penalty and the outstanding Memphis Depay’s long range effort put Midtjylland out in convincing fashion.
However, whilst United might take some motivation from this recent result, they will be aware that Thursday’s opponents will pose a much bigger threat.
Bayern Munich 3-1 United, April 2014
Patrice Evra provided United fans with around 20 seconds of joy as the Reds ultimately succumbed to a 3-1 defeat in this match.
Having earned a respectable 1-1 draw in the first leg, where Bastian Schweinsteiger had scored for Bayern, the Reds had at least some hope for the return tie at the Allianz.
When Evra scored a thunderbolt in the second half, therefore, there was pandemonium amongst United fans. It is certainly one of United’s best goals of recent times.
However, the Frenchman was at fault when Bayern equalised inside a minute through Mario Mandzukic, before Thomas Muller and Arjen Robben put the tie to bed.
United 3-0 Olympiakos, March 2014
Robin van Persie rescued United from an embarassing European exit as he scored a stunning hattrick against Olympiakos.
The Reds had reached what was arguably their lowest point under David Moyes in the first leg, after the Greek outfit emerged with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
However, United’s Dutch frontman produced some heroics to send his side through, with his penalty and clinical effort in the first half followed by a second half free-kick.
The Reds were in exactly the same position in this tie as they find themselves in against Liverpool this week, and this relatively recent triumph could certainly provide some much needed motivation for the players.
United 1-2 Real Madrid, March 2013
This tie might have been three years ago, but is still fresh in the memory of many United fans.
After the Reds had taken a respectable 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, United’s second leg was left in tatters when Nani was sent off in the return tie.
United had gone 1-0 up early in the second half when the Portuguese was shown red for a high foot, but Real Madrid took advantage as the Reds, including then boss Sir Alex Ferguson, were shocked by the incident.
Luka Modric equalised before Cristiano Ronaldo of all people scored the winner, although the legendary forward did not celebrate in front of his old fans.
Athletic Bilbao 2-1 United, March 2012
An Athletic Bilbao side featuring Ander Herrera outclassed United at the same stage of the Europa League four years ago.
After the Reds had lost the first leg 3-2 at Old Trafford there was hope that Sir Alex Ferguson’s men would step up for the return tie, but their Spanish opponents were again dominant.
Fernando Llorente and Oscar de Marcos scored for the home side before Wayne Rooney grabbed a stunning consolation, but it didn’t change the fact that United had been well beaten over two legs.
This is certainly one to forget for United, especially when thinking what might have been as Paul Pogba and Ander Herrera faced off against one another in this match…