Manchester United suffered a shock 1-0 reverse to Besiktas at Old Trafford to still require a point to finish top of Group B.
Tello strike proves difference between sides
Manchester United suffered a shock 1-0 reverse to Besiktas at Old Trafford to still require a point to finish top of UEFA Champions League Group B.
Rodrigo Tello netted against the run of play in the 20th minute to give the Turks a famous victory over Sir Alex Ferguson's much-changed side.
Nemanja Vidic had a great chance to put United ahead in the 13th minute but could not direct his header on target from Anderson's corner.
Seven minutes later, Tello put the visitors ahead when his long-range effort took a deflection off Rafael Da Silva and past the diving Ben Foster.
Gabriel Obertan's effort from close range was then well saved by Recber Rustu, while at the other end, Michael Fink's shot hit the post and went out after a fine passing move had cut the United defence open.
In the second period, Obertan shot and forced a fine save from Rustu before heading the subsequent corner just over, while Patrice Evra had a valid penalty claim turned down late on after being impeded by Ibrahim Kas in the box.
Rustu then produced fine saves to keep out headers from Federico Macheda and Wes Brown in injury-time to earn his side the win and inflict a first home defeat in 24 European matches on United.
The loss means Ferguson's side still need a point in their final group game against Wolfsburg on 8th December to ensure they top Group B, while Besiktas host CSKA Moscow in the other tie aiming to reach the Europa League.
Laboured badly
Obertan apart, Ferguson knows his United team laboured badly against a side that had collected just a single point from their four previous matches.
A bit like England manager Fabio Capello in Qatar, the United boss discovered his back-up is not really cutting it just now, leaving him to cross his fingers that the watching Rio Ferdinand heads a list of returning soldiers when battle recommences in February, when, unlike now, there will be no redemption after failure.
The outcome was particularly galling for Foster, who had so little to do.
To say there was a bit of pressure on the United keeper before kick-off was sizeable understatement.
A lot of it was self-inflicted. In grumbling quite so publicly about his perceived status as Red Devils third-choice goalkeeper while at the same time being good enough to start England's last two internationals, Foster ensured there would be a fairly intense focus on him the next time he was picked by Ferguson.
His recall was accompanied by words of high praise from his manager for CSKA stopper Igor Akinfeev, someone United are supposed to be considering as Edwin van der Sar's replacement when the veteran Dutchman eventually calls time on his stellar career.
Ferguson's assertion that rumours he wants to sign the Russia international are "not true" will be greeted with a pinch of salt by the sceptics and certainly Foster had no reason to feel comfortable.
So, to be beaten after 20 minutes by a long-range strike that appeared to catch him slightly flat-footed was not the best way for Foster to respond.
Slack defending
Consolation could be taken from the slack defending that created the space for Tello to shoot.
The strike itself took a slight deflection off Rafael that took it further out of Foster's reach but it was with a slight shake of the head and a sense of foreboding that the former Watford goalkeeper picked the ball out of his goal.
United were fortunate not to be further behind at the break but Fink's 12-yard effort clipped the outside of a post after the home defence had been opened up far too easily once more.
Yet on the whole, it had been an encouraging first half for a youthful Red Devils side that only needed to preserve that long unbeaten home run to confirm themselves as Group B winners with a game to spare.
Strikers Macheda and Danny Welbeck both caused Besiktas problems in their own way.
The Italian was prepared to shoot from distance while Welbeck had a more nimble approach to unlocking the defence of a side that conceded eight to Liverpool on their last visit to England two years ago.
Obertan made the biggest impact. For those still missing Cristiano Ronaldo, the Frenchman performed some fleet-footed stepovers and was not scared to use his pace down the right flank.
And, although his head seemed to drop near half-time when a couple of decisions went against him, it was Obertan who lifted flagging United spirits after an hour when he collected the ball inside his own half and sprinted past a couple of lame tackles before drawing an excellent low save out of Rustu.
He also looped a Macheda cross onto the roof of the net, at no little cost to Ibrahim Toraman, who was carried off with a suspected broken nose after accidentally being caught by an Obertan elbow.
But Obertan apart, a malaise had gripped home ranks. The introduction of Michael Owen was followed by a Ferguson expletive as he watched Darron Gibson curl a poor free-kick straight at Rustu.
It proved to be the Republic of Ireland international's last involvement as Michael Carrick and Evra were called upon to execute one of those famous rescue acts.
The task proved beyond them, with Rustu producing two excellent flying saves to deny Macheda and Brown to give himself another night to remember at Old Trafford as he was in goal when Fenerbahce became the first team to defeat the Red Devils in a European game at Old Trafford 13 years ago.
| Manchester United |
Team Statistics |
Besiktas |
| 0 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 9 |
Shots off Target |
4 |
| 10 |
Blocked Shots |
0 |
| 7 |
Corners |
1 |
| 12 |
Fouls |
10 |
| 3 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 0 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 86.1 |
Passing Success |
76.6 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
21 |
| 93.8 |
Tackles Success |
76.2 |
| 66 |
Possession |
34 |
| 58.4 |
Territorial Advantage |
41.6 |
|
