Raphael Varane's fist pump celebration after Barcelona win shows how much it meant to him
Raphael Varane's passionate celebration following Manchester United's big win over Barcelona shows how much the victory meant to him.
The Red Devils advanced to the Europa League last 16 after a stunning 2-1 win over the La Liga giants at Old Trafford on Thursday, winning the play-off tie 4-3 on aggregate.
They went behind when Robert Lewandowski converted from the spot in the 18th minute, but Erik ten Hag's team turned their fortunes around with a rousing second-half display.
Fred levelled just after the break, with substitute Antony scoring his side's winner to book their spot in the next round of the competition.
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It's a huge win for Man United as they knock out one of the contenders in their pursuit of a European trophy.
And Varane's reaction after the final whistle sums up the magnitude of the win as he celebrated in front of the Man United supporters.
A video shows Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro and Diogo Dalot celebrating the win before Varane joins in on the act.
The French defender ran over and ramped up the crowd by performing several fist pumps.
The victory over Barca was extra sweet for him due to his Real Madrid connections.
Speaking after the game, Ten Hag revealed what he told his players at half-time.
"I emphasised the belief," said the 53-year-old. "It was too flat first half. We had our spare man, Casemiro we didn’t use enough.
"Aaron Wan-Bissaka had a lot of space on the right side, we didn’t use enough.
"I think in the pressing we could be more brave. So that is what we emphasised.
"The second was to make the sub with Antony who brought more speed in the play and who brings belief on the pitch."
Man United will be considered as one of the favourites to win the Europa League.
Will they go all the way? Let us know what you think.
Topics: Raphael Varane, Football, Man Utd
Nasir Jabbar