Well what have we here? Earlier in the week Chelsea were taking all kinds of fire in the soccer world for the possibility of being eliminated from the Champions League before the knock out stage. I guess we all thought it was forgone conclusion that United would get through. Well, I guess Basel didn't get the memo, because they showed up BIG TIME.
To be fair, United started pretty well. They controlled the ball in the opening 5 or 6 minutes and looked to be chiseling away at the Basel defense. However, once Basel got possession, they did something with it.
All hell broke loose along the United back line in the 9th minute. Both Smalling and Vidic went up for the same cross in their 18 and collided. Smalling fell dazed, and Basel gathered the ball and sent it back in toward the six, which just seemed to baffle United. Captain Marco Streller hammered the ball past David De Gea, who still doesn't look comfortable, and into the net for the 1-0 lead.
It got worse for the Red Devils before the half as well. Captain Nemanja Vidic went into a challenge and twisted his knee. He went down and started waving his hands for medical attention immediately. Initial reports were not good, suggesting ligament damage that could sideline him for months.
Basel added an insurance goal in the second half. In the 84th minute, Alex Frei headed home a ball to the far post that seemed to assure the Swiss a victory with a 2-0 lead. However, United didn't give up, as Phil Jones knocked the ball barely over the line in the 89th minute to make it 2-1. However, United couldn't come up with any magic during stoppage time, and 2-1 was the full time result.
The loss puts United into the Europa League, which I'm sure they'll want no part of. It's Thursday fixtures are a drain for the league weekends. Credit to FC Basel, they showed up, while United played like they were in dreamland for most of the match.
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