History repeated as Manchester United come unstuck at Basel in Champions League
Basel 1 Manchester United 0: A late goal by Michael Lang denied Jose Mourinho's team the chance to secure qualification to the last 16
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Your support makes all the difference.Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it, so goes the saying. It might be a well-known adage but one Jose Mourinho and his men failed to heed on Wednesday night. Almost six years on from Manchester United’s ignominious away defeat at the hands of FC Basel, the English visitors once again found themselves downed by their spirited hosts in a 1-0 loss here at St Jakob-Park.
Such a result does not spell complete disaster for Mourinho’s side, as it did for Sir Alex Ferguson and his men in December of 2011. That defeat brought to an end the club’s hopes of Champions League glory, with United dumped out of the competition in the group stages.
This time round there is to be no be such fallout, with a place in the knockout stages still all but assured, barring a six-goal defeat to CSKA Moscow next month. Nonetheless, there will be scrutiny and questions aplenty as to why United walk away from this match without qualification secured, especially given their dominance and chances in front of goal throughout the opening 45 minutes.
But after a second half which saw the hosts spring into life, it fell to Michael Lang, meeting a low-driven Raoul Petretta delivery across the United goal-mouth, to hit home the winner after 45 minutes of incessant pressure.
Mourinho had rung seven changes for this clash, with Sergio Romero and Marcos Rojo both featuring from the off, while Paul Pogba, captain for the night, retained his spot from the recent demolition of Newcastle.
Despite lacking the same quality that saw him shine at the weekend, Pogba looked eager to prove a point once again. With a catalogue of tricks and thrills at his disposal - a no-look pass, an insouciant step-over, or a soft cushion of the ball - the United captain started brightly, appearing unfazed by this quagmire of a pitch, recently resurfaced after Switzerland’s World Cup play-off qualifier with Northern Ireland.
Unsurprisingly, then, it was the Frenchman who provided United with their first chance of the evening, threading through Romelu Lukaku with a sublime dissecting pass on 12 minutes, only for the forward to send his shot into the palms of the outstretched Tomas Vaclik.
Marouane Fellaini’s turn was next, rising highest in the box to meet Daley Blind’s curled delivery from the left. Manuel Akanji’s goal-line intervention ensured it wasn’t to be. The Belgian enjoyed two more headed attempts in front of goal, the latter of which glanced the right-hand side post, but he couldn’t break the deadlock, try as he might.
For all their lack of possession in the first half, the Swiss side still maintained a degree of menace, especially in the game’s opening stages. Backed by their infectiously rowdy home fans - who declared themselves before kick-off as Basel’s ‘12th man’ through a playful banner - there was a sense the hosts were capable of upsetting the odds.
From Mohamed Elyounoussi’s early sprint down the right to Renato Steffen’s surging midfield charges, Basel kept United’s backline, including Gareth Southgate’s least favourite defender, Chris Smalling, on their toes.
The hosts were not without their faults, however. Dimitri Oberlin, a player United have supposedly been keeping tabs on, notably launched his free-kick into the crowd behind minutes before the break - summing up Basel’s lack of quality in the first half. The visitors sought to have the last say, though, with Rojo’s driven, long-range shot deflecting off Marek Suchy’s head onto the crossbar.
But the second half made for a strikingly different story as Basel took the game to their English counterparts. Having failed to capitalise on their earlier chances, United were made to sweat, and eventually pay, after the break.
A probing Steffen delivery from the right; a venomous, long-range Geoffrey Serey Die strike; a Lang header onto the upright: Basel’s chances came thick and fast as United crumbled under the pressure.
At the heart of this resurgence was Steffen: a bundling mass of energy whose determination and trickery provided Basel with the majority of their chances. He came particularly close in the 63rd minute, drifting in off the right flank before shifting play onto his left and letting loose with a rocket of a shot that sailed inches wide of the far post.
Sensing danger and defensive fragility, Mourinho threw on the big guns. Marcus Rashford was brought on for Jesse Lingard while Nemanja Matic replaced Pogba, whose influence in the game had waned - much like United's. Zlatan Ibrahimovic was similarly introduced with 15 minutes to go, but it wasn’t to be enough. With just one minute on the clock, Lang struck the hammer blow to re-open the United inquisition once again.
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