Manchester United Fan View: European wake-up call must not be ignored

I am well aware that this is very much a Manchester United fan clutching at straws, but there was something refreshingly nostalgic about the defeat to Basel on Wednesday night.

Especially since it will almost certainly have little consequences to their qualification from the group stages. A home draw against CSKA Moscow will still be enough for them to progress as winners, while only a seven-goal defeat will result in United not making it through at all.

But the look of unmitigated joy on the faces on the Basel fans and their management and coaches, and the wild celebrations that followed, once again proved just how a big scalp defeating Manchester United still is. It also helped that the result meant they were still in contention to progress from the Champions League, and confirmed that they will at least participate in the Europa League after Christmas, too.

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For Manchester United, though, it should be the one and only reminder that they can’t rest on their laurels in this competition, whoever the opposition. That was something United were certainly guilty of in Switzerland, as their impressive first half performance, which saw them hit the woodwork twice, and look in control and probing for large sways of play, immediately dissipated in the second.

United’s arrogance and lackadaisical approach allowed Basel to grow into the game, and they soon started to create openings and chances. By the time that Michael Lang had scored their eventual winner in the last minute of normal time it was more than deserved, and meant that United will still have to go into their last game with work to do.

But United’s recent history has always been littered with such missteps. So much so that in the 2015/2016, 2011/2012, and 2005/2006 seasons they were even unable to get out of the group stages, while over the years they have lost games against Fenerbahce, Stuttgart, Celtic, Copenhagen, Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Marseille, and Goteborg in a manner far from befitting.

Doing so again against Basel, who they also lost against in their disastrous 2011/2012 campaign, wasn’t just par for the course, but a healthy reminder not to take being in the Champions League for granted. Especially when you consider that they have only qualified for the competition in 2 out of the last 4 campaigns, and have actually been playing well in it up until the start of the second half against Basel.

The one major hurdle this defeat does throw up, though, is that Jose Mourinho now has no choice but to play the big guns when United play CSKA Moscow on Tuesday December 5^th, a game that lies in between their match at Arsenal on Saturday December 2 and their pivotal derby encounter with Manchester City at Old Trafford on Sunday December 10.

The common consensus will be that Manchester United have now given up the opportunity to rest their players for the key Premier Leageu games, a viewpoint that could prove to be right. But it should also be noted that this run of games gives United a chance to build up a head-of-steam, and the right set of results wouldn’t just silence the numerous Mourinho naysayers, but set up the rest of the campaign perfectly, too.