Manchester United's reserve side, arrayed in an unfamiliar back five, looked disjointed throughout a poor game - and Depor looked well aware that only a miracle would see them through.
And yet it was not a youngster left red faced by the Spanish side's languorous first when it came to old hand Laurent Blanc.
Never the most blessed with pace, Blanc was made to look positively pedestrian by Fran down the left and his cut back gave Victor a side-foot home from five yards out.
Victor turned architect for the second, minutes after the half time break, twisting and turning superbly down the right to give himself time to pick out a cross, and the hapless Mark Lynch, under pressure from Luque, was horrified when the ball hit his ear and bounced into the net.
United did carve out a fine scoring chance on 63 when Ryan Giggs rounded the goalkeeper but after cutting back for Darren Fletcher, watched as Cesar Martin cleared the youngster's shot off the line.
The miss did seem to raise the English side and Giggs was unlucky when his turn and shot caromed off a post with Dani Mallo beaten.
But in truth the match never ignited - and little was learned from the weak final game.
In the other Group D game, Basel certainly had no intention of bowing out of their triumphant Champions League campaign with a whimper, and they proved they were up for a fight.
Juventus knew that they could afford to lose - albeit not by a landslide - and their team was not at full strength.
Nevertheless it was the Italian side that took the lead when Alessio Tacchinardi rocketed a swerving shot with the outside of his foot that flew past Pascal Zuberbuhler in the Basel goal.
But, as they have shown on several times in their European campaign - the Swiss side will not lie down and they got themselves back level when Marco Iuliano made a hash of a clearance and the ball broke for Mario Cantaluppi to smash home from close range on the volley.
The game looked destined for a 1-1 draw - but deep into injury time at the end of the game, Christian Giminez converted to seal a historic victory that meant their Turin based opposition only qualified by the narrowest of margins.
Champions League Group D:
Basel v Juventus
Deportivo La Coruna v Manchester United
