Finally, with a minute to go in regulation time, we got the game we came for. Rangers equalised late on and Manchester United put the ball back on the centre spot, and the Rangers fans roared and the United fans roared back, and the cold wind whipped in off the Pennines, and for a few blissful minutes Old Trafford was a whirlpool of pure blood cells.
Finally the noise began to build and the tackles flew in and every duel felt epic. Alejandro Garnacho tried to burn James Tavernier for pace, and Tavernier – eyeballs popping, 33-year-old lungs bursting – somehow held him off. A few seconds later Nicolas Raskin flew through the air and cut down Kobbie Mainoo like a second-row at a lineout. Free-kick.
