- Manchester United suffered a surprise blow in the Champions League tonight
- Basel scored late on to seal a 1-0 win over the Red Devils in Switzerland
- Jose Mourinho’s side now need a point in their final game to ensure they go through
- WATCH: Man Utd transfer target shows why Jose Mourinho’s a big fan with stunning overhead kick
Manchester United’s hopes of qualification to the Champions League knockout stages took a surprise blow tonight as they lost 1-0 away to Basel.
Michael Lang netted a late winner for the Swiss giants, leaving Jose Mourinho’s men needing a point against CSKA Moscow in their next game to ensure they go through.
United were far from at their best and will certainly need to do a bit of soul-searching after that…
Man of the match
For all the big names and big-money purchases on show at United, it was Basel wing-back Michael Lang who shone brightest on this night in Switzerland.
The 26-year-old was tireless for the home side throughout and kept up that tremendous work rate with a late run into the box to give Basel their winning goal in the 90th minute.
Wing-backs are becoming increasingly commonplace all over Europe, and while Lang is not the biggest name, he played the role to perfection on this occasion.
Flop of the match
Making his 100th appearance, Jesse Lingard summed up his lack of real progress at Manchester United with an ineffective display before being hauled off by Mourinho later in the game.
The England winger has been resting on his popular reputation among Red Devils fans for too long now, with the Old Trafford fanbase always slightly more generous towards their academy products.
Still, Lingard did little to justify his selection tonight, lacking the nous, creativity and quality to really give his attacking team-mates the opportunities they needed to break the deadlock.
Stat of the match
Well, perhaps we should have seen this coming then…
Player ratings
Manchester United: Romero 7, Smalling 6, Rojo 7, Darmian 6, Blind 7, Herrera 7, Fellaini 7, Pogba 6, Lingard 5, Martial 6, Lukaku 6 / Subs: Rashford 6, Matic, 6 Ibrahimovic 6
Basel: Vaclik 7, Balanta 7, Suchy 7, Akanji 8, Die 7, Zuffi 7, Lang 8, Petretta 7, Steffen 7, Elyounoussi 6, Oberlin 6 / Subs: Fransson 6
Reaction
Mourinho may be an easy target when his side don’t seem to click in attack, but Twitter is full of fans slamming his negative approach once again.