Manchester United’s perfect start to their UEFA Champions League campaign was brought to a halt when they were handed a narrow 1-0 defeat by Swiss club FC Basel at the St. Jakob-Park, on Wednesday night.
Coming into the game on the back of a 4-1 win over Newcastle United in the Premier League, United boss Jose Mourinho decided to ring in the changes, as only Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were retained from the line-up that defeated the Magpies. Also, Marcos Rojo marked his return from a long injury layoff.
The Red Devils were totally dominant in the first period, where they created a host of opportunities, but could not find the back of the Basel goal.
Forwards Lukaku and Martial both went very close to breaking the deadlock, while midfielder Marouane Fellaini and Rojo both hit the woodwork, as the teams headed into half-time with the scoreline intact.
United’s frustration in front of goal didn’t seem to ease after the break as well, and the home side looked much improved, making things difficult for the visitors, while they themselves went close to scoring when Michael Lang hit the crossbar.
The introduction of Marcus Rashford and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did not have the desired effect for Mourinho’s side and when it seemed that the game would eventually end in a draw, handing United the point that they needed to confirm qualification for the knockout stages, Lang struck the killer blow in the 89th minute, to hand Basel all the three points on the night.
United still sit on top of the Group A with 12 points from 5 games, three ahead of Basel and CSKA Moscow, who are 2nd and 3rd respectively. The Red Devils still need a point from their final group game, against Russian side CSKA Moscow, to seal their qualification.
The fans weren’t pleased with the defeat and here’s how they reacted on Twitter.
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