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Louis Van Gaal’s Manchester United crashed out of the UEFA Champions League group stages on Tuesday night after a miserable outing at the Volkswagen Arena. It isn’t usual practice for the Red Devils to exit the tournament at the initial stages and their ouster was met with disbelief throughout English football circles.However, this is not the first time that United have been eliminated before the knock out stages of the Champions League. This list takes a look at the four times that fate has been cruel to the English giants since the UEFA Champions League was introduced in 1992-93.
#1 2015-16
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Let us start the list by striking while the rod is hot – The 2015-16 Group stage exit puts yet another question mark on Louis Van Gaal’s ability to deliver silverware for the Red Devils. Drawn in to a group comprising of Wolfsburg, CSKA Moscow and PSV Eindhoven, Van Gaal and co would have been excused for taking the competition lightly.
United’s trip to Eindhoven to kick off their campaign was considered to be just a nostalgic trip down memory lane for PSV alumni such as Van Gaal and Memphis Depay, and victory was supposed to be all but assured when Memphis gave the visitors the lead just before half time. However, PSV gave a glimpse of what was to be expected in the group as they rallied to record a famous 2-1 victory at the Philips Stadion to ruin Van Gaal’s return.
A humbled Van Gaal brought United back on track after a victory against Wolfsburg at Old Trafford, but draws against CSKA and PSV in the return leg ensured that United went in to the last match against Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena needing to match the Dutch side’s result to progress.
United would take the lead in the 10th minute only to be pegged back by goals from Naldo and Vierinha. It was a topsy turvy game which was supposedly destined to be meaningless after PSV fell behind to CSKA. A result, which had it remained the same until the end, would have ensured that United qualified even with a defeat.
However, five goals were scored in those two games in the final 15 minutes which saw United come back to level 2-2 and concede the lead again when Naldo scored two minutes later. PSV would respond to CSKA’s 76th minute goal with two goals of their own in seven minutes which would see the Dutch side leapfrog United to take second place in the group behind Wolfsburg.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wolfsburg | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | +3 | 12 |
| PSV Eindhoven | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | +1 | 10 |
| Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| CSKA Moscow | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -4 | 4 |
#2 2011-12
Machester United suffered only one defeat in their 2011-12 Group stage campaign, but that happened to be in their final match of the group against minnows FC Basel. That result would see the Swiss side progress to the knock out stages at the expense of a shell shocked United.
The Red Devil’s stuttering campaign had already seen them draw with Basel at Old Trafford and twice with Benfica. However, they needed just a draw against Basel at St.Jakob’s Park to progress.
Remarkably, the famed United side would collapse almost from the start of the match as Marco Steller gave the Swiss side a 10th minute lead. United seemed out of their element in the 36,000 capacity stadium at Basel and Alexander Frei who had already scored twice in the first leg at Old Trafford would strike the killer blow in the 84th minute to ensure United’s demise.
A late consolation would not be good enough for United as Basel progressed to the second round alongside Benfica.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benfica | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | +4 | 12 |
| Basel | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 11 |
| Manchester United | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | +3 | 9 |
| Otelul Galati | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 | -8 | 0 |
#3 2005-06
The 05-06 season was particularly depressing for United fans. The Premier League campaign would see the Red Devils lose out the crown to Chelsea for the second season running, with an embarrassing 3-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge deciding the title race. To add to it, United would also crash out of the Champions League rock bottom of their group for the first time in history.
United were placed in Group D of that year’s competition alongside Benfica, Villarreal and Lille. United actually started out brightly and were leading the group with five points after the group stages had reached the half way stage. How ever, everything fell apart in the second half of the campaign as United managed to score just one point from their remaining matches.
A 2-1 reverse at the hands of familiar foes Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in the final game would see the Portuguese side qualify for the knockout stages alongside Villarreal. However, the low point of United’s campaign were their performances against the supposed whipping boys of the group, Lille.
The French side would hold United to a goal less draw at Old Trafford and would sensationally beat the English club 1-0 at the Stade de France. Milenko Acimovic’s 38th minute goal would ironically be the only goal scored by Lille in the competition and it would lead to the Parisians eventually qualifying for the Europa League as United finished bottom of the group owing to their poor head to head record against the French club.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Villarreal | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | +2 | 10 |
| Benfica | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
| Lille | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
| Manchester United | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | -1 | 6 |
#4 1994-95
This was the year of the Swedes – Minnows IFK Goteborg were given little chance when they were placed in a Champions League group comprising of Barcelona, Manchester United and Turkish giants Galatasaray. They showed flashes of brilliance when they led Manchester United at Old Trafford in their opener, but United would ensure that usual business followed with a 4-2 victory.
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IFK Goteborg | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | +3 | 9 |
| Barcelona | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | +3 | 6 |
| Manchester Untied | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 |
| Galatasaray | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | -6 | 3 |
United would eventually end up leading the group after the first round of matches, but the Swedes had already produced the upset of the tournament by beating Barcelona 1-0 at home.
The unsuspecting Red Devils would then walk in to a slaughter against a seething Barca at the Nou Camp and suffered a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Romario and co.
Before recovering from that defeat, a complacent United were picked apart by Goteborg in the return leg and the Swedes would produce another sensational result – 3-1 the score this time in favour of Goteborg.
Going in to the last round of matches, Goteborg were assured of top spot in the group and it would be Barcelona and Manchester United fighting to stay in the competition. United would thump Galatasaray 4-0 in their final encounter, but a lucky 1-1 draw for the Catalans against Goteburg at the Nou Camp would see Barca qualify in second place.
