Substitute Jordan Siebatcheu scored a stoppage-time winner to earn Young Boys a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in their 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League opening match on Tuesday.
Siebatcheu pounced on a woeful back pass from Jesse Lingard in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark wild scenes of celebration.
The victory ensured that Manchester United got their 2021/2022 UEFA Champions League campaign off to the worst possible start.
Manchester United looked to be cruising to victory after Cristiano Ronaldo matched former Real Madrid teammate Iker Casillas’ 177 games record by firing them in front in the 13th minute.
The Portugal captain had equalled the all-time UEFA Champions League appearance record in Bern.
But Manchester United’s task was made more difficult after full-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off for a lunging tackle on Christopher Martins with 35 minutes on the clock.
The home crowd sensed an upset was on the cards, with Manchester United bringing on French defender Raphael Varane at half-time.
They, therefore, went to five at the back to try to see out the victory.
But the hosts got a deserved equaliser through Nicolas Moumi Ngamaleu at the near post in the 66th minute.
Ronaldo was then replaced in the second half as Manchester United again changed formation.
The visitors then needed a fine late save from goalkeeper David de Gea to keep Young Boys at bay.
But the drama was not over and Siebatcheu’s strike, timed at 94 minutes and 22 seconds, was the latest winning goal in a UEFA Champions League match.
This was since Lucas Moura’s effort for Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax Amsterdam in the 2019 semi-finals.
“That’s football, people make mistakes,” Manchester United captain Harry Maguire said.
“We’re not blaming Jesse. I’m sure everyone on that pitch today has made a mistake. I’m sure Jesse will pick himself up.
“It’s the first game in the group. We’ve got many games to bounce back and we must do. We’ll try and pick up three points in our next game and build momentum from there.”
In a raucous atmosphere in the Wankdorf Stadium, it was the home side who had the first chance, with Meschak Elia dragging a strike just wide.
Yet it was the visitors who opened the scoring.
Ronaldo, UEFA Champions League’s all-time leading goalscorer, moved on to 135 in the competition with another predatory finish.
That was after being picked out by a sublime cross from Portugal teammate Bruno Fernandes.
Young Boys, who became the 36th different side Ronaldo has scored against in the UEFA Champions League, were then gifted a way back into the match by Wan-Bissaka.
Meanwhile, no player has found the net against more opponents in the competition than Ronaldo.
Full-back Wan-Bissaka’s first touch was heavy, leaving him reaching into the tackle, studs up on Martins.
The referee showed no hesitation in brandishing the red card.
Christian Fassnacht then almost immediately levelled, volleying just wide as the hosts looked to make their numerical advantage count.
Against the run of play, Ronaldo raced clear early in the second period and went down looking for a penalty kick, but nothing was given.
The hosts were piling on the pressure, and got a deserved equaliser through Ngamaleu, who battled to get to the ball ahead of Varane and sent the home crowd into delirium.
Ronaldo was then replaced by Lingard, before Siebatcheu had the final say, with the Manchester United substitute getting his pass back to De Gea all wrong.
It was no surprise then that the scenes of celebration continued long after the final whistle.
Meanwhile, two goals from Robert Lewandowski and one from Thomas Mueller propelled Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win at Barcelona in their opening Champions League game on Tuesday.
It was indeed another brutal demonstration of the gulf in class between the two sides.
Mueller gave Bayern the lead in the 34th minute of the Group E clash with a strike from outside the area which deflected off FC Barcelona defender Eric Garcia to confound goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Lewandowski struck the German champions’ second in the 54th, tapping into the net from close range on the rebound.
This was after Jamal Musiala had hit the post as Bayern made a rampant start following the interval, hemming their hosts into their own half.
The Polish striker twisted the knife further into FC Barcelona by scoring again in the 85th, after collecting the ball in the area.
This was after another shot had come back off the post and tormenting the defence before calmly beating Ter Stegen.
The score line was not quite as damning for FC Barcelona as the 8-2 drubbing Bayern gave them in the quarter-finals two seasons ago.
But the performance was just as hopeless as they were routinely dispossessed and struggled to cope with the visitors’ intensity.
“I can’t complain about the team’s attitude, but there’s a big difference in quality between the two teams,” said FC Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman.
“They’re a team that has been playing together for a long time and they were even stronger when they brought players off the bench. We have a lot of young players who will get better in the next two or three years.
“It’s very difficult to accept but I hope things improve once we get players back from injury.”
While FC Barcelona despaired at their inferiority, Bayern revelled in another dominant performance against the Catalans, who they also hammered 3-0 at the Camp Nou in the 2013 semi-finals.
“It’s a lot of fun playing here, the boys enjoyed it,” Mueller said.
“When you win 3-0 here, it’s a really important signal. We’re really pleased. We gave very little away at the back and going forward, we could have scored one or two more.”
FC Barcelona made a promising start in their first Champions League game in front of supporters at the Camp Nou since December 2019.
Although the crowd was limited to 40,000 due to coronavirus restrictions there were fewer fans in attendance owing to a lack of appetite for the post-Lionel Messi era.
But Bayern soon showed their superiority and it took a strong hand from Ter Stegen to prevent Leroy Sane giving the Germans the lead, while Gerard Pique had to slide across the ground to block a goal-bound strike from Musiala.
FC Barcelona’s only real attempt on goal in the first half came from a free kick, defender Ronald Araujo meeting Memphis Depay’s cross and heading just over the bar.
Bayern finally took the lead their play merited through Mueller, who scored twice in the 8-2 hammering of FC Barcelona in Lisbon and has now netted seven times against the Catalans in Europe’s top competition.
Loud boos could be heard at halftime but things got more desperate for the hosts after the break and by the end of the game FC Barcelona fans were sarcastically applauding the team whenever they managed to recover the ball, resigned to their fate.
Pique also had a tone of resignation as he reflected on the defeat.
“We are what we are, I’m sure we’re going to compete again later in the season even though it’s going to be a difficult year,” he said.
“Overall I think the score line was a bit unfair but we cannot kid ourselves, they were far better than us.”
