Manchester United's winter of woe suffered its most savage blow yet as they were dumped out of the Champions League following a 1-1 draw at home to Porto.
News Source: soccernet.com
The end came when Phil Neville fouled Edgar Jankauskas on the edge of the area and Benni McCarthy, scorer of both Porto's goals in the first leg, sent the free-kick arrowing towards the top corner.
Tim Howard clawed the ball away but Francisco Costinha reacted fastest and lashed the the rebound into an empty net to send United spinning out of the competition before the quarter-final stage for the first time in eight years.
Nine points adrift of Barclaycard Premiership leaders Arsenal, it leaves United with only the consolation prize of the FA Cup to play for - and how they will lament the decision to incorrectly rule out a second Scholes goal for offside on the brink of half-time.
Amid all the pre-match acrimony over Ferguson's belief that the Porto players, talented as they may be, fall to the floor rather too easily, the one thing the Scot had not bothered to stress was the need for patience.
It was a lesson learned early in United's European adventures so, when the half hour mark passed with Porto dominating possession without United having so much as a single effort on goal, no-one in the home camp, players, coaches or supporters, panicked.
Instead they reserved their ire for the Porto player who more than anyone lived up to the stereotypical image Ferguson had conjured up.
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