Bern (Switzerland): Substitute Jordan Siebatcheu scored a stoppage-time winner to earn Young Boys a 2-1 victory over 10-man Manchester United in their Champions League opener 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 and ensure United got their Champions League campaign off to the worst possible start.
United looked to be cruising to victory after Cristiano Ronaldo, who equalled the all-time Champions League appearance record in Bern, matching former Real Madrid team mate Iker Casillas' 177 games, fired his side in front in the 13th minute.
But United's task was made more difficult after fullback Aaron Wan-Bissaka was sent off for a lunging tackle on Christopher Martins with 35 minutes on the clock, and the home crowd sensed an upset was on the cards.
United brought on French defender Raphael Varane at half-time and 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 United again changed formation, with the visitors needing 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 Champions League match since Lucas Moura’s effort for Tottenham Hotspur against Ajax Amsterdam in the 2019 semi-finals.
"That's football, people make mistakes," 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."
Two goals from Robert Lewandowski and one from Thomas Mueller propelled Bayern Munich to a 3-0 win at Barcelona in their opening game in 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 Barca 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 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 Barcelona by scoring again in the 85th, collecting the ball in the area after another shot had come back off the post and tormenting the defence before calmly beating Ter Stegen.
The scoreline was not quite as damning for Barca as the 8-2 drubbing Bayern gave them in the quarterfinals 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 Barca coach Ronald Koeman.
