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The task of claiming the single point necessary to qualify had seemed easy enough before the start of the game, but Manchester United were humbled 2-1 at the St. Jakob-Park by hosts FC Basel, and were subsequently knocked out of the UEFA Champions League in quite dramatic fashion on Wednesday. The Red Devils, behind group leaders Benfica by a solitary point before kickoff, had a very poor start to the game, with Marco Streller netting in the opening stages to give Basel a crucial lead. That lead was doubled towards the end by Streller's strike partner Alexander Frei, and despite the late goal that last season's finalists got back through Phil Jones, it was too little too late, as the referee blew time on the game and United's campaign. Benfica, victorious against Otelul in the other Group C game, qualified on top of the pile, while Basel leapfrogged the sorry Red Devils into second and made the cut for the last 16.

The hosts' starting eleven did not throw up any surprises, as manager Heiko Vogel went for a tried-and-trusted 4-4-2 formation with Swiss record-breaking striker Alexander Frei partnering Marco Streller upfront. The former's namesake Fabian Frei had an impressive game during the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, and was present again on the wing, as was dangerman Xherdan Shaqiri, with the center midfield patrolled by Granit Xhaka and Cabral. Regular central defensive pairing Aleksandar Dragovic and David Abraham lined up in tandem again, with South Korean international Park Joo-Ho and Markus Steinhofer flanking the duo.

Sir Alex did not try testing the fitness of Danny Welbeck for the crucial clash against Basel, leaving the striker, recently returning from injury, on the bench in favour of a 4-5-1 formation, with Wayne Rooney leading the line. He was given support from the wide positions by United's two regular wingers Nani and Ashley Young, with Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung, both wide players by choice, played infield as part of a three-man central midfield alongside youngster Phil Jones. There was no messing about at the back, as Rio Ferdinand partnered Nemanja Vidic at center-half, with Patrice Evra on the left and Chris Smalling recovering from his injury to make the eleven on the right. David de Gea, who was rested at the weekend, got the start in goal ahead of Danish custodian Anders Lindegaard.

With tensions high and the game crucial to both sides' chances of making the knockout stages, the last thing either needed was a lapse of concentration at the back early in the game. Unfortunately for United, that is exactly what happened in the seventh minute, when De Gea rather feebly cleared Shaqiri's cross straight into the path of Streller, who upon invitation didn't think twice before releasing a strike, volleying the ball home from 10 yards out to give Basel a crucial early lead.

The Red Devils were in the need of a quick response, but resolute and organised defending from the hosts didn't allow the English outfit too much space in the attacking third though giving them a lot of possession in midfield. United's talisman Wayne Rooney, however, was guilty of missing an absolute sitter right on the stroke of halftime. It was Nani who created the chance, beating his man on the right wing before finding Rooney with a brilliant low cross. The English striker needed just to turn the ball into the net from point-blank range, but overran the ball, managing in the end to poke it towards the far post, where Park Ji-Sung was present, but couldn't hit the target either.

Rooney had another low drive held by Basel keeper Sommer, while Nani had an attempt cleared away by Park Joo-Ho. The night went from bad to worse for Sir Alex's side with halftime looming large, who saw their skipper stretchered off after injuring himself in what looked like a nasty collision with Streller. The referee's whistle came soon afterwards, with United's Champions League campaign in the balance and needing some inspiration in the next 45 to avoid being the biggest-named casualty in the first round of qualifying.

Rooney had another chance four minutes into the restart after Giggs played him in on the left, but the striker's curler flew narrowly wide of the far post. On the other end, David de Gea did a little to make up for his mini-gaffe in the first half, as Alexander Frei's freekick was superbly tipped away by the Spaniard.

With time slowly running out for United, Steinhofer almost gifted United a lifeline when he hammered an attempted clearance into his own post from Nani's delivery, thankful to see the effort bounce out rather than creep in.

The Red Devils kept a lot of the ball, but with the visitors pushing more bodies in attack, looked very vulnerable at the back on the counter. Basel on the other hand, to their credit, were defending in numbers and were pressing the attacking United side with much success.

Rooney had a few efforts from range fly wide, but against the run of play, it was the hosts who doubled their tally and all but killed off United in the 82nd minute, with veteran forward Alexander Frei this time finding the net. Again, it was Shaqiri's cross which did the damage, as his well-directed effort was not dealt with by any United defender, allowing the ball to roll for Frei at the back post, who had the easiest of tasks to stroke it into the unattended net from a couple of yards out.

With less than ten minutes remaining and a repeat of the 1999 final required, Sir Alex made his last throw of the dice by bringing on Federico Macheda in the hope of changing the course of the game. It was no surprise then, that United found a goal on 89 minutes after an in-the-box melee, with Phil Jones scoring his second goal of the week to give United a chance of still making it. It was a right goalmouth scramble in the Basel penalty area after Macheda's rather straightforward attempt crashed into the post. Jones however was on hand to send the ball goalbound again, and by the time Sommer had made an intervention, the ball had inched over the line, giving United a minute and stoppage time to pull a huge rabbit out of the hat.

They ploughed forward in search of the elusive equaliser, but it was not to be however, as the curtains came down on United's Champions League campaign with a defeat at St. Jakob-Park. Basel on the flipside celebrated, not only a famous win over Manchester United, but a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Teams :

FC Basel (4-4-2) - Sommer, Steinhofer, Abraham, Dragovic, Park, Shaqiri, Cabral, Granit Xhaka, Fabian Frei, Alexander Frei, Streller

Manchester United (4-5-1) - De Gea, Smalling, Vidic, Ferdinand, Evra, Park, Giggs, Jones, Young, Nani, Rooney

Final Score: FC Basel 2 - 1 Manchester United

Scorers :

FC Basel - Streller 9', Frei 84'
Manchester United - Jones 89'

File Photograph Copyright: Tsutomu Takasu