Manchester United vs. Basel: Red Devils Show Mental Weakness in 2nd Half Crumble

Manchester United slept walk through the majority of their match with Basel and walked away with a 3-3 draw, and they needed a late goal in the 90th minute by Ashley Young to even salvage that.

Manchester United entered this game banged and bruised. Injuries kept key players like Wayne Rooney out of this match, but Man U still enjoyed a distinct talent advantage in this match.

That talent advantage shone early, as the Red Devils exploded for two early goals. Danny Welback netted two scores in the 16th and 17th minute.

Then the Red Devils went into zombie mode—especially on defense. Basel began taking the match to Man U. Although, they were unable to capitalize on their chances, and this match entered halftime with the Red Devils leading 2-0.

It seemed likely that coach Sir Alex Ferguson would rip into this squad at halftime and ignite a better second half performance. It didn't happen.

Man U was even more lackluster in the second. They allowed three goals between the 58th an the 76th minute and found themselves trailing 3-2. They appeared headed towards defeat until they were saved by the Young score.

It was a disappointing performance for this great team and reflected a distinct lack of mental toughness.

Ferguson spoke about this after the match. Ferguson, as quoted on football.uk.rueters.com:

"In many ways, it was a welcome to European football for them. They were very lax for most parts of the game I thought.

"The attacking part was very good at times, but there was a carelessness about us; they could really have scored three goals in the first half."

Man U has to learn from this. They cannot allow this kind of lackadaisical play to creep up in any match.