MANCHESTER, England (AP) – It wasn’t so long ago that Swiss team Basel possessed a reputation for being a scourge of English clubs in European competition.
Back-to-back victories over Chelsea in the Champions League group stage in 2013. Elimination of Tottenham in the Europa League quarterfinals a season earlier. The season before that, the famous 2-1 home win over Manchester United that denied England’s biggest club a spot in the Champions League knockout stage.
No wonder United manager Jose Mourinho sounded a note of caution when Basel was drawn as a group-stage opponent in this season’s Champions League.
In reality, though, United – the current leader of the Premier League – should have little to worry about when it opens group play against the Swiss champion at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
Basel has started its bid for a ninth straight Swiss league title with as many losses in seven games – two – as it had all last season, when the team finished 17 points clear. Fans whistled the players off the field Saturday after a 2-1 home loss to last-place Lausanne.