Manchester United have suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Basel in Switzerland, which sees England’s top team finish third in Champions League Group C, and exit the competition.
After a number of lacklustre performances in the tournament so far this season, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men were left with the task of getting a draw away to the Swiss champions to ensure second place behind Benfica.
However a goal in each half by the hosts caught The Red Devils by surprise, and means the English champions will have to make do with the Europa League.
Xherdan Shaqiri set up both goals, creating one apiece for veteran strike partnership Alexander Frei and Marco Streller, with a late Phil Jones strike only consolation for the Old Trafford team.
Sir Alex Ferguson was clearly disappointed with the outcome of the game, but has backed his players to bounce back.
“Of course we’re disappointed, there’s no other way you can feel,” the Scot told Sky Sports.
“It’s part of football. You have to deal with the disappointment, and this club has used it as motivation many times.
“These young players will feel disappointed tonight but they’ll have to cope with it and go on with their careers.
“Our results in the last few years have been outstanding. It’s a loss because it’s the best tournament in the world. It’s a marvellous tournament.
“It wasn’t a good start to the game. We expected to try and control the game by getting control of possession. They’ve scored through their first real attack.
“When you’re away from home and you’re 1-0 down you have a job to do. The opportunities we had we didn’t take them and that was the story of the game,” he concluded.
In the other Group C game Benfica beat Otelul Galati 1-0 to top the pool, with Oscar Cardozo scoring the winner after seven minutes.
In a double blow for United, captain Nemanja Vidic was also stretchered from the field in the defeat, and looks to have picked up a serious knee injury; no news has been released on the severity as yet.
United join cross-town rivals City in the Europa League, and will want to put the defeat behind them when they return to Premier League action against Wolves on Saturday.
By Gareth McKnight
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