Man Utd stumbled into the knockout phase of the Champions League after a a 3-3 draw at home to CSKA Moscow.
Hosts come back from 3-1 down to reach the knockout phase
Manchester United stumbled into the knockout phase of the UEFA Champions League after a lucky stoppage-time goal secured a 3-3 draw at home to CSKA Moscow.
Russian outfit CSKA appeared to be heading towards a famous win at Old Trafford after moving into a 3-1 lead early in the second half, but Paul Scholes gave United a lifeline before Antonio Valencia's wayward shot took a wicked deflection off Georgy Schennikov in the second minute of added time.
CSKA were lively from the off and, producing a much-improved performance from the 1-0 home defeat by United a fortnight ago, took the lead on 25 minutes through the impressive Alan Dzagoev's thumping finish.
United were playing in fits and starts, but drew level just four minutes after falling behind when Michael Owen's predatory instincts finally kicked in and he fired past Igor Akinfeev from close range.
But CSKA were back in front within another two minutes as Milos Krasic capitalised on the gaps in the home defence to skip past Edwin van der Sar and lift his shot into the net.
Any hope of a positive start to the second half for United quickly evaporated when CSKA scored a third goal on 47 minutes as the unmarked Vasili Berezutsky headed home a free-kick at the far post.
The Red Devils should then have had a penalty, only for Darren Fletcher to be booked for diving, while Federico Macheda headed against the post and Akinfeev produced a string of fine saves.
The famous late rally from United eventually materialised, though, as Scholes rose well to head home Gary Neville's free-kick with six minutes to go.
And the comeback was completed in stoppage-time as Valencia's deflected effort left Akinfeev with no chance to ensure United reached the last 16 with two games to spare.
Frailty
Within the opening 30 seconds Dzagoev had fired over after striding through a static United defence and only two minutes were on the clock when Deividas Semberas flashed a shot wide.
Given Sir Alex Ferguson had only just declared his faith in central defensive pairing Jonny Evans and Wes Brown to keep Chelsea out on Sunday should the respective calf injuries of Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand keep them out, it was not an ideal start.
For a while it did not seem as though the frailty would matter.
Valencia justified his manager's declaration that his form has improved markedly over the past few weeks and although neither Owen nor strike partner Macheda - who was making his Champions League debut - could profit from the Ecuador star's incisiveness, it seemed only a matter of time before the hosts scored.
There was a sense of bewilderment therefore when the opening goal ended up in the home net.
Evgeni Aldonin floated a cross towards target man Tomas Necid, who chested it first time to Dzagoev, who found himself with only Evans to run at.
The young Northern Ireland star appeared to have done the right thing in shadowing Dzagoev down the channel. The Russian though had a pretty startling response, lashing a shot into the far corner from an acute angle which Van der Sar barely reacted to as it whizzed past.
Owen drilled home a typical poacher's effort in response but parity lasted two minutes as Krasic galloped into the box unchallenged, collected Necid's pass, skipped past Van der Sar and, after a neat pivot, tapped into an empty net.
If Ferguson had called for more solidity at half-time, the words fell on deaf ears as within two minutes of the restart, Dzagoev had floated a free-kick to the far post where Berezutsky nodded home.
The home cause was not helped when Fletcher was denied a certain penalty when he was chopped down by Berezutsky, the irritation only compounded when the Scot was booked for diving.
Wayne Rooney's introduction just before the hour mark offered England's most deadly striker the chance to provide baby Kai with the most appropriate arrival present as well as offering United a solution to their predicament.
He nearly managed it too, only to be denied twice by Akinfeev who made excellent follow-up saves after initially repelling Owen and Macheda's header had struck a post.
Akinfeev was beaten on 84 minutes as Scholes stole in unmarked at the near post to head home Neville's delivery from the right.
And the CSKA keeper was left helpless again in added time as Valencia's drive was heading wide before taking a heavy deflection off Schennikov.
In a frantic finale, CSKA finished the game with 10 men as Semberas was shown a second yellow card after tangling with United substitute Gabriel Obertan, who was also booked for his trouble.
