The Red Devils missed a chance to reach the Champions League knockout stages with a match to spare for the first time since 2014 after a late goal condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at Basel in a mega exciting Group A clash on Wednesday.
Midfielder Michael Lang scored the 89th minute winner for the Swiss side after Raoul Petretta found him with a pinpoint low cross at the far post, giving United’s stand-in keeper Sergio Romero no chance.
United are still top of the group with 12 points from five games, three ahead of second-placed Basel and third-placed CSKA, who kept alive their hopes of reaching the last 16 with a 2-0 home win over Benfica earlier in the day. Free bets online are suggesting that they will make it to the next stage – but what exactly does Mourinho think?
“We played against a team that played with five defenders. We knew that. We tried to play with three attacking players and that worked in the first half because they couldn’t handle us. So it’s hard for me to be upset with the players. The first half the attitude was good, the football was good. It is really difficult to blame. It’s just football.” – Mourinho
