Manchester, England:
Manchester United's 23-match unbeaten Champions League home run ended in a 1-0 loss to Besiktas on Wednesday, sending the battle for top spot in Group B down to the final match.
Rodrigo Tello scored in the 20th minute to keeping alive the Turkish club's hopes of progressing against an under-strength United, which had already qualified for the knockout stage.
Tello's 30-meter shot took a slight deflection off United defender Rafael Da Silva and dipped and bounced beyond goalkeeper Ben Foster to give Besiktas its first win in the group.
"The whole world knows how big a team United is at Old Trafford, so we are very pleased," Besiktas coach Mustafa Denizli said. "We came here with only one aim, and that was to win as we want to continue our journey in Europe.
"It is a very good night for Besiktas and Turkish football in general. I believe in this team but we need to win our next game in the group as well."
United hadn't lost at Old Trafford since AC Milan triumphed in February 2005 en route to the final, but manager Alex Ferguson wasn't making any excuses.
"We were a bit anxious but it's not a bad thing _ they're young and you expect them to make mistakes," Ferguson said. "It was a stellar performance in terms of the flow of the game.
"We've shown some really good things tonight and that's encouraging but at the end of the day we just didn't get the result we needed."
Leading the attack were 18-year-old forwards Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, who was denied a stoppage-time equalizer by Rustu Recber's fine save.
United still has a three-point lead over Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow, which beat the German club 2-1 in Moscow.
United, which will secure top spot with a draw at Wolfsburg on Dec. 8, leads the group with 10 points. Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow each have seven points. Besiktas has four.
"It's very important to finish top because you get to play your second leg away from home in the next round," United midfielder Darron Gibson said. "But I think we'll be all right at Wolfsburg. If we go there and play well then we'll win."
Ferguson claimed second-half substitute Patrice Evra should have been awarded a penalty for being fouled by Ibrahim Kas in the closing minutes.
"That is two games in a row we have had stonewall penalties in European football," Ferguson said. "It isn't in the spirit of the game but what can you do about it? You just have to get on with it."
Rodrigo Tello scored in the 20th minute to keeping alive the Turkish club's hopes of progressing against an under-strength United, which had already qualified for the knockout stage.
Tello's 30-meter shot took a slight deflection off United defender Rafael Da Silva and dipped and bounced beyond goalkeeper Ben Foster to give Besiktas its first win in the group.
"The whole world knows how big a team United is at Old Trafford, so we are very pleased," Besiktas coach Mustafa Denizli said. "We came here with only one aim, and that was to win as we want to continue our journey in Europe.
"It is a very good night for Besiktas and Turkish football in general. I believe in this team but we need to win our next game in the group as well."
United hadn't lost at Old Trafford since AC Milan triumphed in February 2005 en route to the final, but manager Alex Ferguson wasn't making any excuses.
"We were a bit anxious but it's not a bad thing _ they're young and you expect them to make mistakes," Ferguson said. "It was a stellar performance in terms of the flow of the game.
"We've shown some really good things tonight and that's encouraging but at the end of the day we just didn't get the result we needed."
Leading the attack were 18-year-old forwards Danny Welbeck and Federico Macheda, who was denied a stoppage-time equalizer by Rustu Recber's fine save.
United still has a three-point lead over Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow, which beat the German club 2-1 in Moscow.
United, which will secure top spot with a draw at Wolfsburg on Dec. 8, leads the group with 10 points. Wolfsburg and CSKA Moscow each have seven points. Besiktas has four.
"It's very important to finish top because you get to play your second leg away from home in the next round," United midfielder Darron Gibson said. "But I think we'll be all right at Wolfsburg. If we go there and play well then we'll win."
Ferguson claimed second-half substitute Patrice Evra should have been awarded a penalty for being fouled by Ibrahim Kas in the closing minutes.
"That is two games in a row we have had stonewall penalties in European football," Ferguson said. "It isn't in the spirit of the game but what can you do about it? You just have to get on with it."
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