Sir Alex Ferguson at Rangers’ Europa League defeat to Lyon (Image: Getty)
He may have been watching Rangers, but heart was still with Rather than travelling to Portugal to see United’s Sir Alex made the shorter trip to Ibrox to watch his boyhood club take on Lyon.
However, he still kept tabs on beleaguered side. While Rangers were heading towards a 4-1 defeat, the legendary former manager was spotted checking his phone for score updates from the Estadio do Dragao.
Having surrendered a 2-0 lead and seeing sent off for the second successive game, it looked set to be a disappointing night all-round for Ferguson. However, he was lifted by Harry Maguire’s last-gasp equaliser. After the goal went in, Sir Alex was seen saying to the person next to him, “3-3 to United, 3-3. Harry Maguire”.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our
After the clip was shared on social media, United fans expressed their sympathy for the club’s greatest-ever manager. One posted on X: “We have made this guy’s retirement absolute hell.”
Another joked: “He was reading my message, and I asked him kindly to come back to .” A third added: “This man’s passion for the game and his club, at that age, is what’s missing from the players & the manager today. Especially at a club like ours. THIS Mentality & Passion.”
Despite nicking an unlikely point, the failure to win after leading 2-0 has piled yet more pressure on Ten Hag. He now faces a testing trip to a buoyant Aston Villa on Sunday before the international break, with the Dutchman’s position set to be reviewed during the pause.
Ten Hag said he was left with “mixed feelings” after the Porto draw as he slammed his side’s defending. He said: “When you are winning a game. We all know this is a very tough place to go and then you start so well, the players executed the plan, I would say, brilliantly.
?????? Sir Alex Ferguson at the Rangers game checking the Man Utd score.“3-3 to United, 3-3. Harry Maguire.” []
— ?????????????????? ??????????????????’?????? ???????????????????????? ✍?????????????????? (@TenHagBall_)
“We scored two great goals and then we switch it off and we don’t keep so much possession as before. Defending, we’re switching off.
“We concede the first goal totally unnecessarily and then you know when you light up the fire in this stadium, in this ambience, then it becomes really tough.
“We addressed it in a half-time and then you concede the third one, so unnecessary. It’s not good defending again. It’s also to do with some willingness in such moments. But then I have to praise the guys for how they return in the game, how they fight, how we find a way to get the equaliser.”