1968: Racing rattle jubilant Reds
Wednesday 16 October 1968
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Action from the game between United and Estudiantes (©Getty Images)
Club Estudiantes de la Plata 1-0 Manchester United FC
Manchester United FC 1-1 Club Estudiantes de la Plata
Estudiantes win with three points
Manchester United FC were given a tough introduction to the European/South American Cup when they qualified for first time as European champions in 1968.
First-leg defeat
The two sides first met in the Boca Juniors Stadium on 25 September. Estudiantes won 1-0 thanks to Marcos Conigliaro's 27th-minute header, with United reduced to ten men when Nobby Stiles was dismissed for dissent ten minutes from time. The Manchester club had become the first English side to claim the European Champion Clubs' Cup with a final victory against SL Benfica the previous season, but – with Celtic FC having lost in the previous year's intercontinental tie – defeat in Argentina left Sir Matt Busby's side with it all to do in the return.
Two dismissals
There were more disciplinary problems in the second leg at Old Trafford where both sides finished a man short after George Best and José Hugo Medina were sent off following an incident with two minutes to play. Estudiantes were already 1-0 up by then thanks to Juan Ramón Verón's seventh-minute goal, and though Willie Morgan equalised in the last minute, a draw was not enough for United who lost 2-1 on aggregate under the new rules.
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