BRAINDEAD DEFENCE COSTS UNITED POINTS

 

 

The last time United faced Basel was in the 02/03 Champions League second round Group D campaign which I probably watched either in a pub or in my Halls of Residence flat. First up we beat then 3-1 at St Jakob Park with Ruud van Nistelroy getting two of the goals and Ole Gunnar Solksjaer getting the third. Then came a more dissapointing 1-1 draw at Old Trafford with Gary Neville scoring for the Reds, despite that, dissapointing result, United still made it to the quarter finals while Basel went out of the competition. United have never done the double over the Swiss Super League side, despite them not having the greatest European pedigree.

Fast forward to the present day and United had had an OK start to this season's European campaign but Basel had gone one better and won their opening match. Still, winning your home matches is crucial in this sort of campaign so this Champions League Group C match at Old Trafford was very much a must win. Still, despite injuries to our two best strikers, you'd have hoped that we could have seen off this sort of opposition at home. De Gea back in goal, Fabio right back, Rio(captain) and Jones central defence, Evra left back, Valencia right mid, Carrick and Anderson centre mid, Young left mid, Wellbeck and Giggs up front.

The early stages of the first half were a bit slow to get going from a United perspective but given our striker injury troubles, what actually happened was jaw dropping. A 16th minute Fabio cross was nudged by Giggsy to Wellbeck who fired in his first ever Champions League goal. Then in the 17th minute Giggsy sent in a ball which Wellbeck slammed in for his 2nd. Basel certainly seemed to have their uses throughout the first half but their final product was absolutely useless. The teams came in at half time with United looking very secure indeed, this was looking like it was going to be as straightforward as everyone expected it to be.

Basel certainly were in no mood to hang around in the second half but still, it was just a case of battening down the hatches right? Well that's something our defence turned out to be incapable of. In the 58th minute, Marco Steller headed a corder to Fabian Frei who headed it in, then in the 60th minute Fabian set up his namesake Alexander Frei to head in the equaliser. Then in the 76th minute United conceded a penalty and Alex Frei hit the United net for a second time. It was time fr another of United's awesome comebacks...starting with hammering the Basel goal but I looked at the TV screen more in hope than expectation untill sub Nani crossed to Young in the 90th minute and the Champions League debutant celebrated with a goal. We weren't able to get a winner though and suddenly, we've found ourselves in trouble.

Elsewhere, Otelul Galati faced Benfica at the Nationul Arena. This was not Otelul's regular home stadium and it was Benfica that was running the show from the start and the Superliga side eventually broke through with Bruno Cesar opening the scoring. The second half was a bit more even in terms of opportunities but while the Otelul defence were looking a bit more comfortable, their attackers weren't able to do what was needed to prevent Benfica coming away with three points. That means that United drop to 3rd in Group C and currently on course for being dumped into the Europa League. They're two points behind Benfica and the Champions League knockout stages but two points ahead of Otelul Galati and going out of Europe altogether.

In Group E, Chelsea faced Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium. The Blues had the edge over their La Liga opponents in the first half, particularly in the first few minutes when they blew two opportunities but ultimately half time arrived with the match goalless. That changed early on in the second half when Frank Lampard opened the scoring for the Premiership side but Valencia weren't going to let their visitors get away that easilly as a Roberto Soldado pen secured a point for the home side. That means that Chelsea remain top of the group, one point ahead of nearest rivals Bayer Leverkusen and two points ahead of Valencia and being dumped into the Europa League.

In Group A, Man City faced Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. The Blues looked as though they might have been capable of mugging the Bundesliga giants in the early stages of the match but then Mario Gomez grabbed two goals before half time. The second half saw the home side just take the mick out of the new guys in town and to add insult to injury Roberto Mancini looks like he'll have to deal with some internal issues as well. No more goals but City could have their work cut out. That means that the Blues remain 3rd in the group and on course for being dumped into the Europa League, three points behind Napoli and the Champions League knockout stages and a point ahead of Villarreal and going out of Europe altogether.

In Group F, Arsenal faced Olympiakos at the Emirates Stadium. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got his first Champions League goal for the Gunners early on with Andre Santos making it two before David Fuster pulled one back for Olympiakos before half time. The second half was a tight affair with both sides showing enough class to win the game but while the Gunners particularly turned up the heat late on, no more goals were to come. That keeps Arsenal 2nd in the group and on course for the knockout stages. They lie two points behind group leaders Marseilles and three points ahead of Bourissia Dortmund and being dumped into the Europa League.

Going down a level, the Europa League group stages were continuing. In Group A, Spurs beat Shamrock Rovers 3-1 at White Hart Lane(Spurs now 2nd in the group). In Group E, Stoke beat Besiktas 2-1 at the Brittania Stadium(Stoke now top the group). In Group K, Fulham beat Odense 2-0 at TRE-FOR Park(Fulham currently 2nd in the group). In Group H, Birmingham somehow beat Maribor 2-1 at the Ljudski vrt(Birmingham still 3rd in the group though). In Group I, Celtic drew 1-1 with Udinse at Celtic Park(leaving Celtic bottom of that group). Overall it was a very impressive night for British clubs in Europe's secondary compettion.

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