Gallery: United v Ajax

United lost the battle but won the war after a 2-1 home defeat to Ajax at Old Trafford on Thursday was still good enough to hand the Reds a 3-2 aggregate win.

Sir Alex's men made a great start as Javier Hernandez opened the scoring with a fine finish on six minutes, before Aras Ozbiliz drew level just before the break from 20 yards.

The Dutch champions dominated possession and territory in the second half but created little in terms of scoring chances - until Toby Alderweireld’s late header set up a tense finale. Thankfully, Sir Alex’s men held on to secure a last-16 meeting with Athletic Bilbao.

To help retell the story, we've compiled a gallery of the night's best images, many of which were taken by club photographers John and Matt Peters.

More: United 1 Ajax 2 | Sir Alex: Changes almost cost us