5 other dismal European nights for Manchester United

Manchester United had a bad night in Europe on Thursday night.

Their hopes of winning the Europa League ended with a 3-0 quarter-final second leg loss to Sevilla in Spain.

Here, Football Mad looks at five other nights to forget for United in Europe.

Sporting Lisbon 5 Man Utd 0 (Sporting won 6-4 on aggregate) – Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final, March 18 1964

Denis Law’s goal had helped give United a commanding advantage over Sporting but it disappeared in Portugal (PA)

United appeared to be in command of their quarter-final against Sporting after winning 4-1 at Old Trafford in the home leg. But a side including the holy trinity of George Best, Denis Law and Bobby Charlton were taught some tough lessons in Portugal as they were beaten 5-0 by the eventual winners to crash out of the tournament.

Man Utd 0 Fenerbahce 1 – Champions League group stage, October 30 1996

Elvir Bolic’s goal stunned Old Trafford as Manchester United lost to Fenerbahce (John Giles/PA)

United had never been beaten in European competition at Old Trafford going into this fixture, a run of 56 matches dating back to 1956. Few would have backed Fenerbahce to be the ones to end that proud record, but Turkey was emerging as a football power and there was no better illustration than the victory delivered by Elvir Bolic’s goal – another blow for Sir Alex Ferguson’s side after losing consecutive league game 5-0 and 6-3 to Newcastle and Southampton.

Zalaegerszeg 1 Man Utd 0 – Champions League preliminary round first leg, August 14 2002

In 2001/02, United failed to finish in the top two for the first time in the Premier League. That forced them into the Champions League qualifiers, and they were handed a scare when they travelled to Hungary and suffered a shock to defeat to their little known hosts thanks to Bela Koplarovic’s last-minute goal. United would win the second leg 5-0 but this was still a humbling night in the club’s history.

Basel 2 Man Utd 1 – Champions League group stage, December 7 2011

Marco Stroller, left, got one of Basel’s two goals when they dumped United out of the Champions League in 2011 (Nick Potts/PA)

United should have made light work of a Champions League group that paired them with Basel, Benfica and Otelul Galati. But after drawing three of their first five games they went to Switzerland needing a win. Instead goals from Marco Streller and Alexander Frei put Basel in command, and Phil Jones’ late consolation effort could not prevent only United’s second group stage exit since the mid-1990s.

FC Midtjylland 2 Man Utd 1, Europa League Round of 32 first leg, February 18 2016

Louis van Gaal’s side lost away to FC Midtjylland before turning the tie around at Old Trafford (Martin Rickett/PA)

There were mitigating circumstances for this one. Injuries compelled Louis van Gaal to field a back four of Donald Love, Paddy McNair, Chris Smalling and Daley Blind, but even so, this result still hurt. Even more so given that United had taken the lead through Memphis Depay before goals from Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu gave the Danish club a night to remember.