Zalaegerszeg - 1 Manchester United - 0 Manchester United suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history last night when they were beaten by Hungarian minnows Zalaegerszeg in Budapest.
Alex Ferguson's side looked like escaping with a draw despite a poor performance but even that consolation was whipped away in the final minute when Tamas Szamos stormed down the right wing and delivered a low cross into the United danger zone which was tapped home from close range by substitute Bela Koplarovic.
As defeats go, this was a horror. Only yesterday, Ferguson admitted failure to qualify for the group stages of the Champions League would be "a complete disaster".
Facing opponents who have never played a European game before this season, it seemed no more than a light-hearted effort to make sure his team were fully focused.
Now though, a stunning tumble into the UEFA Cup is an all-too-real possibility with Zala knowing an away goal at Old Trafford could leave their illustrious opponents staring at an early exit from a competition they will host the final of next May.
United had a taste of what was to come after just four minutes when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer latched onto Ruud van Nistelrooy's through ball, then walloped his shot onto a post with Sasa Ilic beaten.
United, however, failed miserably to get any cohesion into their game.
Even worse, the injury mountain continues to grow. Wes Brown sustained an ankle injury in a hefty challenge with Igor Budisa and was replaced by Phil Neville.
After plumping for last season's initial pairing of Roy Keane and Juan Sebastian Veron in midfield, Ferguson he saw his team over-run for long periods in the first-half.
It started quite well, but the loss of Brown enabled the home side to regroup and for 30 minutes, United were forced onto the back foot. Krisztian Kenesei and Darko Ljubojevic were particularly impressive for the home side, with neither Keane nor Veron able to stamp their authority on the game.
Keane was wasteful in possession on a couple of occasions and it needed all Laurent Blanc's calmness at the back to ensure the visitors were not overrun completely.
As it was, Roy Carroll was kept busy enough, tipping over Otto Vincze's 20-yard effort, while Blanc got in the way of Kenesei's angled drive.
It was only as the interval loomed that the visitors assumed some kind of control, and tellingly, it was Keane driving them on.
Solskjaer blazed one effort over before setting up van Nistelrooy, whose volley also cleared the crossbar.
United started the second period in similar fashion and when David Beckham's flighted cross to van Nistelrooy fell straight into Solskjaer's path, the Norwegian lined up a lob which though accurate enough to clear the clutter of bodies in his path, lacked the power to reach the net and Zsolt Csoka was able to clear.
Ryan Giggs had started wide on the left but shifted into a more forward orientated position. It was Solskjaer, however, who got the flick to Beckham's ball which set up van Nistelrooy. The Dutchman bundled the ball in, only to see the goal ruled out for offside.
Van Nistelrooy then sent Beckham clean through but Ilic saved with his feet and within seconds Keane had nodded wide from close range. After enjoying a quiet evening, Ilic was starting to prove his worth, clutching a stinging Keane cross at the second attempt.
Van Nistelrooy was booked for dissent just after the hour, followed shortly afterwards by Beckham for the same offence.
Sasa Ilic was also yellow carded for time-wasting late on - but it didn't really matter - by then Koplarovic had struck.
ZALAEGERSZEG: Ilic, Szamosi, Budisa, Urban, Babati, Farago (Balogh 74), Egressy (Molnar 65), Csoka, Kenesei (Koplarovic 83), Darko Ljubojevic, Vincze. Subs Not Used: Turi, Sabo, Kral, Joszi. Booked: Ilic. Goal: Koplarovic 90.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Carroll, Brown (Phil Neville 5), Blanc, O'Shea, Silvestre, Beckham, Veron, Keane, Giggs, Solskjaer (Forlan 80), van Nistelrooy.Subs Not Used: Butt, Stewart, Scholes, Tierney, Williams. Booked: Beckham.
Referee: W Stark (Germany).
