Basel cost United millions

MANCHESTER UNITED crashed out of the Champions League following defeat in Basle last night.

They were always up against it at St-Jakob Park once Marco Streller had given the hosts a ninth-minute lead.

Though they grew in dominance as the match went on, the elusive equaliser would not come.

Wayne Rooney, who faces a UEFA disciplinary hearing in nearby Nyon today, wasted their best chance, with Markus Steinhofer belting the ball against his own crossbar midway through the second half.

Alexander Frei added Basle’s second eight minutes from time, although United did not go down without a fight.

Phil Jones grabbed a lifetime near the end but the visitors were unable to conjure up a miracle second, leaving Basle to celebrate the greatest night in their history.

In stark contrast, United are counting the massive financial implications of exiting at this stage for the first time since 2005, the lost millions hitting the Glazer family where it hurts the most.

On that occasion, United at least avoided the humiliation of appearing in the Europa League.

Not this time though. After the catastrophe of their 300th European game, United’s 301st will be played on a Thursday night.

By half-time, a night that started with the prospect of having to face a fellow European heavyweight in the last 16 was turning towards the prospect of a meeting with Vaslui, Legia Warsaw or Maccabi Haifa.

Although they had started well, United suffered an early hammer blow Ferguson cannot have expected.

A penalty area collision between Nemanja Vidic and Chris Smalling offered Xherdan Shaqiri the opportunity to collect a loose ball and drive a long way down the by-line before drilling a cross across the visitors’ goal.

It was not an easy moment for David de Gea. But the young Spaniard might have chosen a better option than to lunge at the ball with his feet, succeeding only in turning it to Streller, whose first-time shot bounced in.

For a good while afterwards United struggled to find an answer to Basle’s blanket defence, an ominous sign in itself given the essential need for a goal.

The second shattering moment of the half came in the final minute when Vidic and Streller chased down possession, got their legs tangled up and hit the deck.

The Serbian immediately called for assistance and medical staff wasted no time stretchering him down the tunnel, triggering the introduction of Jonny Evans and much half-time soul-searching within the visitors’ ranks.

Rooney was presented with yet another opportunity four minutes after the restart when Giggs sent him clean through.

The angle was not great but, after opening his body to make room for the curling shot to the far corner, the effort sailed wide.

The visitors so nearly benefited from an outrageous slice of good fortune when, in attempting to hack Nani’s cross clear at the far post, Steinhofer succeeded only in rattling the crossbar.

United plugged away for a bit longer but it seemed the life had gone out of their challenge as Frei finished from close range.

Typically the visitors rallied, scoring through Jones, but it was not enough.

Basle’s Yann Sommer said afterwards: “It’s incredible. A Swiss team, a little country, against Manchester United, one of biggest teams in the world – it’s crazy.

“But we believed in our strength and we fought until the end, this was the key.

“We are through and Manchester are out – it’s super.”

BASEL: Sommer, Steinhofer, Abraham, Dragovic, Park, Shaqiri (Stocker 90), Cabral, Granit Xhaka (Chipperfield 82), Fabian Frei, Alexander Frei (Kusunga 87), Streller.

MAN UTD: De Gea,Smalling,Vidic (Evans 44),Ferdinand,Evra, Park (Macheda 82),Giggs,Jones,Young (Welbeck 64), Nani, Rooney.

Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland).