Champions League Group D:Deportivo...2 Manchester Utd...0On the anniversary of their biggest defeat in Europe, a 5-0 embarrassment against Sporting Lisbon in 1964, Manchester United should count themselves fortunate they came across opponents last night who were not intent on inflicting a similar humiliation.
Instead, Deportivo settled for a goal in each half, condemning United to only their second defeat in 24 Champions League games.
A late booking that means Phil Neville is suspended from the first leg of their quarter-final compounded a night of frustration for Alex Ferguson's players. Yet having qualified with two games to spare, they will not be unduly perturbed.
Ferguson will now turn his attentions to tonight's ties and the quarter-final draw on Friday, when United will face one of the runners-up from the other three qualifying groups: Real Madrid, Internazionale or, say it quietly, maybe even Newcastle or Arsenal.
How Ryan Giggs will have felt about being the only player from Ferguson's recognised first XI to be included in United's travelling party is open to interpretation, particularly as he was overlooked for the captaincy in favour of Laurent Blanc, a player who was told a few weeks ago he would no longer feature in matches of any consequence.
If this is Blanc's final match before retiring at the end of the season, it was not a fitting conclusion to an illustrious career. His lack of pace was brutally exposed by Albert Luque in the build-up to Victor scoring with a simple finish beyond Ricardo in the 32nd minute.
Whereas Ferguson clearly viewed his side's excursion to the Galician coast as a time for experimentation, the Deportivo coach Javier Irureta was unashamedly looking ahead to Sunday's Liga encounter with Real Madrid. With no chance of reaching the knock-out stages, only four of the players from Deportivo's defeat against Juventus in Turin last week were included in the starting line-up.
United went for long spells without threatening but Ferguson was entitled to be pleased by how his young players acclimatised to the surroundings.
Ferguson is confident that Darren Fletcher, the 19-year-old midfielder who did so well against Basle last week, will become a fixture in his squad.
Of the three players making their first full appearances in Europe, Lee Roche was the most impressive in a three-man central defence and it was a peculiar decision to substitute him at half-time.
But Mark Lynch's contribution will be remembered for his own-goal two minutes after the interval, when he spoiled a composed display by heading Victor's cross past Ricardo under pressure from Luque.
Fletcher nearly pulled one back, but his goal-bound shot was cleared by Cesar, then Giggs hit a post, but United were well beaten.
Guardian Service
D CORUNA: Mallo, Manuel Pablo, Andrade (Djorovic 64), Cesar, Capdevila, Victor (Hector 77), Duscher, Acuna, Fran (Scaloni 52), Valeron, Luque. Subs Not Used: Juanmi, Romero, Tristan, Sergio. Booked: Acuna. Goals: Victor 32, Lynch 47 og.
MAN UTD: Ricardo, Lynch, Roche (Stewart 46), Blanc, O'Shea, Pugh, Fletcher, Phil Neville, Butt, Forlan (Richardson 72), Giggs (Webber 72). Subs Not Used: Carroll, May, Davis, Nardiello. Booked: Phil Neville.
Referee: H Vladimir (Slovakia).
