No sooner had Manchester United secured progression into the last 16 of the Europa League with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over St. Etienne than multiple football pundits declared that the Red Devils were hot favourites to win Europe’s second-tier title.
It is easy to see why, with the likes of Inter Milan, Villarreal, Fenerbahce and Shakhtar Donetsk already out of the competition and the remaining teams like Roma, Lyon and Schalke lacking the European pedigree that United possess.
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The field does seem a bit shallow – but the Europa League is a tricky competition and the same pundits who are now clamouring for a United win weren’t too keen on looking back to the similar positive odds they gave to Tottenham before the London side were outmanoeuvred by gritty Gent in the round of 32 stage.
Also read: 10 most successful teams of all time in Europe
While United might indeed be favourites, the fact remains that it doesn't take a big name side to eliminate United in this competition. Nine times have the Red Devils tried to win Europe’s secondary continental crown and each time, they have failed to succeed.
This list takes a look at the nine teams that eliminated United from the Europa League in the past.
#1 Liverpool – 2015/16 Europa League Round of 16
Eliminated from the Champions League group stages last season, Manchester United entered the Europa League at the round of 32 stage. Louis Van Gaal’s United had to endure a 2-1 reverse at the hands of Danish Champions Midtjylland before prevailing 6-3 on aggregate to reach the next round.
The Round of 16 draw doesn’t offer same-nation exclusion and United drew Premier League rivals, Liverpool. The first leg at Anfield ended 2-0 in favour of the Reds with Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino beating David De Gea.
Needing victory by at least two goals in the second leg, United struck first through Anthony Martial. But a wondergoal from Philippe Coutinho on the stroke of half-time meant that Van Gaal’s men would need to score three more goals for Europa League survival. They couldn’t manage a single one and the tie finished 3-1 to Liverpool on aggregate.
United would bow out whereas their great rivals would go on to beat Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal to set up a title clash with two-time defending champions Sevilla – who would proceed to thrash Jurgen Klopp’s men 3-1 to retain the crown.
#2 Athletic Bilbao – 2011/12 Europa League Round of 16
A torrid 2011-12 season saw Manchester United lose the Premier League title to Manchester City courtesy of injury-time goals from Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero on the last day of the season. Their record in Europe was nothing to gush over, either. Eliminated from the Champions League in the group stages by Benfica and lowly Basel, United went down to the Europa League and were instantly awarded the ‘favourites’ tag.
They huffed and puffed past Ajax in the round of 32, despite the Amsterdam side beating United 2-1 at Old Trafford. The round of 16 saw United draw Athletic Bilbao, with the Spaniards having eliminated Paris Saint-Germain in the group stages before struggling past Lokomotiv Moscow on away goals in the first knockout round.
Bilbao visited Old Trafford for the first leg and it seemed to be business as usual when Wayne Rooney put United ahead in the 22nd minute. But Fernando Llorente put Bilbao level a minute from half-time and the visitors proceeded to score two more before Rooney reduced the deficit in injury time.
United went to the San Mames Stadium needing a victory by two clear goals in the second leg, but Llorente again punished the English side in the 23rd minute and when Oscar De Marcos put Bilbao’s second goal past Alex Ferguson’s men, the Basque side were 5-2 up on aggregate with just about 25 minutes to go.
Needing four goals to go through, the English champions could only manage one against Marcelo Bielsa’s side – who were on 33 points and six places behind Spanish League leaders Real Madrid at that stage - and were out of Europe by mid-March.
Athletic would go on to reach the final of the competition where they would be beaten by Atletico Madrid 3-0 with two goals being scored by future United man, Falcao.
#3 Rotor Volgograd – 1995/96 UEFA Cup First Round
The most surprising team on this list – Rotor Volgograd are currently languishing in the third tier of Russian football, having regained professional status at the start of the current season. But back in the mid-nineties, they were a force to be reckoned with in Russia and qualified for European competitions multiple times.
Still, nobody expected Manchester United to have much trouble against the Russian side in the first round of the then UEFA Cup in 1995-96. The home tie saw United hold Rotor to a goalless draw in the cold Russian terrain and they were expected to finish the job at Old Trafford.
However, goals from Kazakh international Vladimir Niederhaus and all time Russian Premier League top scorer Oleg Veretennikov saw Rotor take a 2-0 lead under half an hour. Now desperate, Sir Alex Ferguson brought on Paul Scholes and the midfielder reduced the deficit with 30 minutes left to play.
As the game died down, United keeper Peter Schmeichel would rush upfield and score the equaliser from a corner to make it 2-2 on aggregate with a minute left to play.
Rotor were still ahead on away goals and United were eliminated after a goalless injury time. Rotor would be eliminated in the next round by Bordeaux and the Volgograd side would be beset by financial troubles at the start of the new millennium, even getting reduced to amateur status during that time.
#4 Torpedo Moscow – 1992/93 UEFA Cup First Round
Three years before getting eliminated from the UEFA Cup at the hands of Rotor Volgograd, Manchester United suffered the same fate at the hands of another Russian club. Torpedo Moscow had won the Russian Cup in 1991 in order to qualify for the UEFA Cup, but no one in Manchester would have been worried when they drew United in the first round.
The first leg at Old Trafford ended in a 0-0 draw which meant that United had to produce a positive result at the Luzhniki Stadium to go through. But a team comprising Mark Hughes, Steve Bruce and Brian McClair could only produce a similar score in the return leg which also saw Hughes getting sent off in the 88th minute.
The tie went into penalties and United seemed to be in the driver’s seat when Torpedo missed their first two spot-kicks and United converted both. But both Bruce and McClair missed their kicks and it finished level after five shots.
Torpedo’s Gennadi Grishin converted the Russian side’s first spot-kick in sudden death, meaning that Gary Pallister had to score to keep United in the tournament.
He missed and United went home empty handed – Torpedo moved on to a second round match with Real Madrid where they famously beat the Spanish side 3-2 in the second leg before conceding the tie 5-7 on aggregate.
United have drawn another Russian side, FK Rostov in this year’s round of 16 stage – will history repeat itself?
#5 Videoton – 1984/85 UEFA Cup Quarter-finals
The 1984/85 UEFA Cup saw Ron Atkinson’s Manchester Untied proceed the farthest since their semi-final run in 1964-65. United would see off Hungarian side Gyor, PSV Eindhoven and Dundee United before facing another Hungarian club, Videoton in the quarter-finals.
Coached by the legendary Ferenc Kovacs, the side from Szekesfehervar didn’t have much European pedigree, but they were on fire in the competition – having thrashed PSG at the Parc des Princes before seeing off a strong Partizan Belgrade side 5-0 at the Sostoi Stadion.
Videoton did put up a spirited display at Old Trafford, but a Frank Stapleton goal meant that United held a 1-0 advantage going into the second leg in Hungary.
At Szekesfehervar, though, it was Videoton who went 1-0 up courtesy of a Geza Wittmann goal, and the score stayed the same till the end, which meant that the Red Devils would have to play a penalty shootout in Hungary.
First leg hero Stapleton missed the third penalty for United and Videoton had a chance to win the game when Otto Gomori stepped forward to take their fifth kick. But Gomori missed and John Gidman brought United back into the match by converting his spot kick. However, Imre Vadasz scored next for Videoton and when left-back Arthur Albiston missed the sixth penalty for United, it was the end of their cup run.
Videoton would continue their dream run by reaching a two-legged final against Real Madrid. Real would eventually win the tie with a 3-0 thrashing of Videoton in Hungary, but Kovacs’ side would beat the Spaniards 1-0 at the Bernabeu, eventually settling for the runner-up spot.
#6 Valencia – 1982/83 UEFA Cup First Round
Unlike the other teams on this list, United would not have underestimated their opponents in the first round of the 1982/83 UEFA Cup – Spanish giants Valencia. Los Che had won the Cup Winners Cup three years ago, beating Arsenal in the final and were spearheaded by Argentine goal scoring machine Mario Kempes. However, they were struggling in the league and would barely avoid relegation at the end of the year.
The first leg at Old Trafford ended goal-less and Ron Atkinson’s United knew that they would be in a tough spot in the return leg at the Estadio Luis Casanova – the former name of Valencia’s current stadium, the Mestalla.
But it was the Red Devils who took the lead just before the break, courtesy of Bryan Robson, which meant that Valencia had to score twice to proceed – and they did just that: in the space of three second-half minutes. First, Daniel Solsona converted a 71st-minute penalty, and two minutes later, Roberto had the ball in the United goal again.
It finished 2-1 to Valencia and Atkinson’s side were once again dumped out of the UEFA Cup. Valencia would make it all the way to the quarter-finals, before being beaten in both legs by eventual winners Anderlecht.
#7 Widzew Lodz – 1980/81 UEFA Cup First Round
Widzew Lodz had been regular competitors in Europe from the late 1970s till the end of the century, but were still considered as huge underdogs when they drew Manchester United in the first round of the UEFA Cup in 1980/81. Widzew had proved their mettle during their debut campaign in the competition two years earlier when they eliminated United’s neighbours, Manchester City.
So it was not a huge shock when they held the hosts to a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford during the first leg. United were expected to go past their Polish rivals in Lodz, but were treated to a gritty defensive display at the Stadion Widzewa.
The second leg ended 0-0 which meant that Widzew progressed on the away goals rule. They would continue their dream run by eliminating mighty Juventus in the next round. Eventual champions Ipswich Town would halt their progress, but the Polish side had gained valuable experience – something that came in handy two years later when they eliminated Rapid Wien and Liverpool to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup.
Widzew have struggled financially in the 2000s and are currently in the fourth tier of Polish football.
#8 Juventus – 1976/77 UEFA Cup Second Round
Manchester United’s 1976-77 UEFA Cup campaign got off to a great start when they eliminated European heavyweights Ajax Amsterdam in the first round – but all that got them was a second round tie with Giovanni Trapattoni’s Juventus.
United seemed to be on a roll in the first leg though as Gordon Hill’s goal gave them a 1-0 advantage to protect in their visit to Turin. But Juve had come back from a one goal first leg deficit to get past Manchester City in the opening round and weren’t overly concerned with the disadvantage.
In a masterful display, the Old Lady were level before 30 minutes through Roberto Boninsegna and the former Inter Milan striker doubled his side’s lead in the 63rd minute. Romeo Benetti added a third goal in the 85th minute to end Untied’s hopes and send the Stadio Comunale Vittorio Pozzo into ecstasy.
Juve would similarly brush aside Shakhtar Donetsk, Magdeburg and AEK Athens at home before claiming the trophy with a hard-fought away goals victory over Atheltic Bilbao in the two-legged final. It would Juventus’ first European triumph.
#9 Ferencvaros – 1964/65 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup Semi-finals
United qualified for the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup of 1964/65 – the precursor to the UEFA Cup – by finishing second in the league. A squad comprising Denis Law, Bobby Charlton and George Best were unstoppable in the early stages of the competition.
Djugardens were routed 7-1 on aggregate in the first round, Borussia Dortmund were beaten 4-0 at home and by an incredible 6-1 margin away, before United beat Everton at Goodison Park to reach the quarter-finals. Strasbourg were up next and were promptly thrashed 5-0 in France to set up a semi-final tie with Hungarian side Ferencvaros.
The Hungarians were no minnows themselves, with future European Footballer of the Year, Florian Albert amongst their ranks. They had beaten Roma and Athletic Bilbao en route to the semi-final but were considered underdogs against the Red Devils.
At Old Trafford, United drew first blood with a 3-2 victory – but the spirit displayed by the Hungarians rattled the English side. This was apparent in the return leg at Budapest as United stumbled to their first defeat of the competition courtesy of a Dezso Novak penalty in the 44th minute. The away goals rule would have knocked United out, but in those days, the result was settled using a play-off.
Ferencvaros promptly beat United once again at Budapest with Janos Karaba and Mate Fenyvesi putting the Hungarians 2-0 up before John Connelly pulled one back four minutes from time.
The Green Eagles would create further history in the final with a 1-0 victory over Juventus at the Italian side’s Stadio Comunale delivering Ferencvaros their first European crown.
